WASHINGTON, DC — Ahead of this week’s vote on H.R. 3, landmark legislation that will overhaul America’s rigged drug pricing system, patients from across the country sent a letter to House leaders expressing support for the bill and urging passage. The Lower Drug Costs Now Act would let the government negotiate lower drug prices for Americans, use the savings from negotiation to add hearing, vision, and dental coverage for Medicare beneficiaries, and support innovation by directing billions of dollars to the National Institutes of Health.
“Americans have been waiting for this reform since powerful drug corporations blocked Medicare from negotiating lower prices nearly two decades ago,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now in a letter signed by 16 other patient advocates from across the country. “This week, the House can rectify that injustice and put our nation on a road to affordable drug prices and better health.”
The letter is signed by patients with cancer, autoimmune conditions, genetic diseases, and other chronic conditions that require expensive medications. They are covered by Medicare, Medicaid, employer plans, and through the individual marketplace, and require drugs ranging in price from $10,000 to $875,000 per year.
Momentum for the bill continues to grow. Since the bill’s introduction in September, more than 106 Members of Congress have cosponsored the bill, and dozens more supported passage in key House committees.
H.R. 3 would:
The letter to support H.R. 3 follows the launch in October of a multi-million dollar advertising campaign featuring TV, digital, and radio ads to support the passage of H.R. 3, along with drug pricing reforms proposed in the Senate and by the Trump administration. Nine of 10 Americans from both political parties agree one of Congress’ top priorities should be to lower drug prices.
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Dec. 10, 2019
Dear Chairmen Neal, Pallone, and Scott,
We write to express our strong support for H.R. 3 — The Lower Drug Costs Now Act.
As patients with cancer, autoimmune conditions, genetic diseases and other chronic conditions that require expensive medications, we each have a personal stake in this fight. We are covered by Medicare, Medicaid, employer-sponsored insurance, and through the individual marketplace. Our drug prices range from $10,000 to $875,000 per year.
We need this reform. The time for waiting is over.
Our stories demonstrate why 86% of Americans support letting Medicare negotiate directly with drug companies.[1] H.R. 3 heeds this call and takes reforms further by extending lower prices to people who receive drug coverage from private sector insurers as well. H.R. 3 will improve health by ensuring Americans can afford to take drugs as prescribed; it will also improve Medicare beneficiary health by adding dental, vision, and hearing benefits to the program. Importantly, it will support innovation and new drug development by increasing funding for the NIH and FDA.
All of the signers of this letter traveled to Washington D.C. in recent months to meet with our elected officials and demand action to lower drug prices. Today, we urge passage of the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act. If we could make one amendment to the bill, we would request that Congress extend the bill’s provisions to Americans without insurance coverage — who are often faced with the most critical affordability challenges at the pharmacy counter.
Americans have been waiting for this reform since powerful drug corporations blocked Medicare from negotiating lower prices nearly two decades ago. This week, the House can rectify that injustice and put our nation on a road to affordable drug prices and better health.
Signed,
David Mitchell, Bethesda, MD, Multiple Myeloma
Robin Bennett, Grand Island, NE, Type 2 Diabetes
Marta Deike, Lodi, CA, Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome
Tiburon Erickson, Taylorsville, UT, Mother of Type 1 Diabetic
Ethan Erickson, Taylorsville, UT, Type 1 Diabetes
Robert Fowler, Ridgeville, OH, Multiple Myeloma
Rose Hernandez, California City, CA, Asthma
Kimberly Ishoy, South Jordan, UT, Type 1 Diabetes
Juliana Keeping, Silver Spring, MD, Mother of Cystic Fibrosis son
Luz Lopez, Phoenix, AZ, Fibromyalgia
Karen Macedon, Sacramento, CA, Type 2 Diabetes
DJ Clayton Martin, Jacksonville, FL, Sickle Cell Disease
Clayton McCook, Oklahoma City, OK, Father of Type 1 Diabetic
Jacquie Persson, Waterloo, IA, Crohn’s Disease
Sam Reid, Washington, D.C., Crohn’s Disease
Lauren Stanford , Washington, D.C., Type 1 Diabetes
Ashley Suder, McMehen, WV, Lupus
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1. Let. Medicare. Negotiate. Already.
2. Let’s Get the Job Done
3. No Upper Limit
4. Survey Says:
5. Transparency in Action!
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In response to votes in the House Energy & Commerce Committee and the House Education & Labor Committee to advance H.R. 3, a bill that would lower drug prices for all insured Americans through negotiations, Ben Wakana, the executive director of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, issued the following statement:
“A long day of hard work on drug pricing on Capitol Hill produced a good outcome for patients. H.R. 3 cleared two key House committees, and the public heard from a patient and experts during a robust debate in the Ways & Means Committee. Now is the time to press on and advance this bill into law. Patients are waiting, and we are watching.”
BACKGROUND:
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Lawmakers have a window to make history and lower drug prices, and a new Patients For Affordable Drugs Now campaign will urge Congress and the White House to seize the moment and act now. The multi-million dollar campaign will include TV, digital, and radio ads across the country featuring patients who support proposals in the House and Senate to rein in skyrocketing drug prices. Big Pharma is spending millions to distort, demonize, and relentlessly attack these proposals because the changes could actually break the rigged system that keeps their profits high and patients’ costs skyrocketing.
Watch the videos, “Jackie” and “Gail.”
“Americans are being crushed by high drug prices, and we want to send a message to the White House and Congress: Big Pharma is spreading scare tactics and lies,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “Legislation to lower drug prices must move now. If lawmakers side with Big Pharma instead of patients, they’ll pay in votes.”
Today’s campaign includes support for the:
As part of the campaign, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now will release television, radio, and digital advertisements that show the toll high prescription drug prices are taking on everyday Americans, offer a suite of tools that encourage Americans to contact their elected officials in support of lowering drug prices, and share stories of patients suffering under prescription drug prices on social media.
The campaign will launch on Thursday with a national cable TV and radio ad. It will expand to local TV, digital, and radio ads in targeted Senate and House districts over the upcoming weeks.
Americans overwhelmingly support action to lower drug prices. Eighty-six percent of Americans — majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents — support allowing Medicare to negotiate. Americans pay twice as much for prescription drugs as other nations, and nearly 1 in 3 adults report not taking their medicines as prescribed due to cost.
Big Pharma is lobbying furiously to protect its profits, but Congress and the White House need to listen to patients.
This campaign comes on the heels of a campaign in August encouraging the Senate to enact the bipartisan Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2019. That campaign thanked members for supporting reforms and held accountable those who opposed them.
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Patients hit by skyrocketing drug prices are speaking out in favor of Medicare negotiation in response to a plan in the House of Representatives that would lower drug costs for Americans through negotiations with drug corporations.
“People are skipping doses, cutting pills in half, choosing between food and paying for their drugs. People are dying because they can’t afford their insulin,” David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now will tell the the Education & Labor Subcommittee on Health today during a 2 p.m. hearing.
With drug prices continuing to skyrocket unchecked, three patients shared the impact of the status quo:
Sue Lee, Crewstood, KY, lives with plaque psoriasis: “I have been forced to stop taking Humira after learning the treatment would cost me over $8,000 a year out-of-pocket. I don’t have too large of a savings account and I live off of the fixed income provided to me by Social Security. I can’t afford to pay for Humira under any circumstances.”
Ruth Rinehart, Tampa, FL, lives with primary immune deficiency: “If drug costs were more affordable, it would take such a financial burden off my family. My husband is now also ill, and unfortunately, his drugs are not covered by insurance and so he cannot take what is being recommended for him. All we want is access to our medication without having to bankrupt our family.”
Bob Keller, Parsippany, NJ, lives with type 1 diabetes: “I wish that my wife could retire and we could move to Medicare, but because of the high cost of medication, that simply isn’t an option. I believe that Medicare should be able to negotiate lower drug prices for their beneficiaries. If they were to negotiate down the cost of my medication, my wife and I would enjoy a higher quality of life.”
Eighty-six percent of Americans — majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents — support allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices. But under current law, Medicare is prohibited from negotiating directly with drug companies on behalf of taxpayers and Medicare beneficiaries.
Nearly 1 in 3 adults report not taking their medicines as prescribed because of the cost. One in four have difficulty affording their medications.
Medicare negotiation would level the playing field for patients and taxpayers and lower the price of prescription drugs.
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TL;DR of PhRMA’s statement on the House plan to lower drug prices? “We’re good with the high prices, thanks.”
Welcome to the Week in Review.
1. Get On Board the Negotiation Train
2. Patients Over Party!
3. PhRMA and BIO LOL
4. Product Hops Must Stop!
5. International Pricing Index: Let’s Make a Deal
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In response to today’s release of a bill by House leadership that would lower drug prices for Americans, Ben Wakana, Executive Director of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, issued the following statement:
“Early details of H.R. 3 clearly deliver on the promise to break the monopoly pricing power of drug corporations by allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower prescription prices. Importantly, the legislation incorporates key bipartisan priorities like an International Pricing Index, caps on price increases, and an out-of-pocket limit for prescription drug spending. It will lower drug prices for all Americans covered by a government plan or private insurance. H.R. 3 is a bold step forward.”
BACKGROUND:
The plan includes the following key provisions that would:
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, issued the following statement in response to a draft plan in the House of Representatives that would lower drug prices for Americans through negotiations with drug corporations.
“If reports are accurate, this plan would deliver significant relief for patients and taxpayers. The proposal would lower prescription drug prices for American patients while protecting access to medicine and increasing funding for innovation.
“Americans pay two to three times what people in other nations pay for prescription drugs. Why? Other countries negotiate — we don’t. This proposal will ensure that Americans experience lower drug prices whether covered by a government plan or private insurance. It will be a bold step forward.”
BACKGROUND:
According to reports, the plan includes the following key provisions that would:
Medicare Part D provides coverage for 43 million Americans’ prescription drug needs. And spending has been on an untenable path.
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