| WASHINGTON, D.C. — As Congress continues to consider the Build Back Better Act, AARP and Patients For Affordable Drugs Now sent a letter to members of the House of Representatives today urging them to support the hard-fought agreement to lower drug prices included in the Build Back Better Act. The letter enumerates the key elements of the prescription drug framework, which will lower prices, premiums, and out-of-pocket costs for patients and older Americans. The provisions were added back into the Build Back Better Act after hundreds of thousands of people called and emailed Congress telling members “to stand with us and not the drug companies.” The letter urges representatives to vote yes this week on the Build Back Better Act to lower drug prices for patients. “The agreement reached on drug prices will finally start to reverse policies that have left patients and consumers at the mercy of drug corporations and forced Americans to pay three times what other wealthy nations pay for the same medicines,” Nancy A. LeaMond, Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer at AARP, and David Mitchell, cancer patient and founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, say in the letter. “This package represents a hard-fought compromise, and we call on all members of Congress to strongly reject any efforts to weaken the deal.” Medicare negotiation is the single most popular element of the Build Back Better plan, with support from 90 percent of Americans. Read the full letter here and below. |
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The next four weeks will be critical for drug pricing reforms in Washington. We are on the verge of winning the most sweeping legislation to lower drug prices in decades. But Big Pharma and its allies in Congress are still trying to block or weaken it, and we must keep doing everything in our power to get it over the finish line intact.
If we succeed, it will be the product of compromise, which means it won’t be everything we wanted. It will, however, make a meaningful difference in the lives of millions of patients and virtually every American. Because the legislation resets practices all across the drug pricing system in this country, the reforms will be implemented over time.
Starting in 2023, we will curb year-over-year price gouging by making drug corporations pay penalties if they raise prices faster than the rate of inflation. This price increase cap will protect all Americans in both Medicare and private sector insurance plans. Co-payments for insulin will be limited to $35 a month for all Medicare Part D beneficiaries and in most private sector plans.
In 2024, everyone on Medicare Part D will be protected from high out-of-pocket costs. Right now, there is no annual out-of-pocket maximum in the Medicare retail drug benefit, and people can wind up paying more than $15,000 a year if they need an expensive drug to manage acute or chronic disease. Beginning in 2024, annual out-of-pocket costs will be capped at $2,000. A redesign of the program will incentivize drug plan operators to negotiate more aggressively with drugmakers for lower prices on our behalf. Additionally, Medicare beneficiaries will no longer pay cost-sharing on any recommended vaccines.
In 2025, for the first time ever, negotiated prices will begin to take effect for Medicare for the most expensive drugs. Negotiations will focus on older drugs without competition. The first year will include 10 of the highest-spend prescription drugs, moving to a total of up to 100 drugs by the end of the decade. Negotiations will start with a ceiling price set at a discount of at least 25 percent to 60 percent off the average manufacturer price, depending on how long the drug has been on the market. Lower negotiated prices will save money directly and help hold the line on premiums and out-of-pocket costs for people on Medicare. Negotiated prices will also be public, so employers and insurers can use them as leverage to get a better deal in the private sector.
Also in 2025, Medicare plans must offer enrollees the option of “smoothing” monthly out-of-pocket payments. Right now, the payment for the first month of the year can be brutal for people taking expensive drugs. Instead, beneficiaries will be able to spread the costs more equally over the year to make costs more affordable and manageable.
Much has been written about the effect of lowering drug prices on innovation and new drug development. Let’s be clear: This legislation protects, encourages, and rewards innovation. Drug corporations will still be able to set prices on new drugs to reap rewards for investment and risk. That is how we incentivize innovation now, and nothing will change to affect that process. Any scare-mongering you hear from Big Pharma about innovation under this legislation is pure hogwash.
Together, these provisions fundamentally reform our system to make it work better for those it is intended to serve — patients and all Americans. It is not as strong as we wanted, but we have to contend with the realities of the political process. There is no Republican support for Medicare negotiation in Congress — not one vote. So the bill has to be passed under a legislative procedure called reconciliation, requiring only 50 votes in the Senate. That means we cannot lose any Democratic votes in the evenly divided Senate, and there are only three votes to spare in the House.
Frankly, this bill would have been stronger with just a couple more votes on our side in each chamber. But instead, we have seen the bill weakened by members of Congress who have been serving the interests of Big Pharma — notably, Reps. Scott Peters (D-CA), Kurt Schrader (D-OR), Kathleen Rice (D-NY), Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) and Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ). Outrageously, these members are trying to take credit for winning this bill when it has taken every ounce of our effort and that of our allies in and out of Congress to fight these pro-pharma members and keep the bill as strong as it is.
The credit for the bill we are now pushing to pass goes to many people and organizations, including AARP, consumer groups, some physician groups, large employers, small business owners, President Biden, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and stalwart supporters in both the House and Senate.
Most importantly, much of the credit goes to you — patient advocates. The fight for Medicare negotiation has been nearly two decades, and we are on the brink of getting it done. What was different this time? Thousands of you stood up and shared your stories with news media, on Capitol Hill, in state legislatures, and beyond. Without you, we would not be on the precipice of historic change.
Having said that, we are not home yet. Our legislation is a part of the Build Back Better package that the House hopes to vote on by the week of Nov. 15. Then it goes to the Senate, and then back to the House. Final action is likely by mid-December. There is still treacherous terrain to cross before we finish the job. Big Pharma — with three lobbyists for every member of Congress — is still swarming over Capitol Hill to try to weaken the bill every day.
That’s why the next four weeks are critical. We will be doing everything we can to make sure the drug pricing legislation gets across the finish line without further weakening amendments. And we need you to buckle down for this final stretch push with us to get it done. Go to MedicareNegotiation.org and send a message to your members of Congress today. Patients have made a key difference in this fight. Now, let’s finish the job.
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| “We Must Deliver On Our Promise To Lower The Amount Of Money Our Constituents Pay For Prescription Drugs” |
| WASHINGTON, D.C. — As congressional Democrats work to add drug pricing provisions, including Medicare negotiation, into the Build Back Better Act, 15 frontline House Democrats sent a letter yesterday to Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer urging immediate action to address the high price of prescription drugs. Led by Rep. Angie Craig (MN-02), the letter is signed by Reps. Colin Allred (TX-32), Cindy Axne (IA-03), Sharice Davids (KS-03), Josh Harder (CA-10), Steven Horsford (NV-04), Andy Kim (NJ-03), Susie Lee (NV-03), Lucy McBath (GA-06), Tom Malinowski (NJ-07), Chris Pappas (NH-01), Elissa Slotkin (MI-08), Abigail Spanberger (VA-07), Lauren Underwood (IL-14), and Susan Wild (PA-07). “On behalf of patients all across this country, we want to thank Congresswoman Craig and these members of Congress who are going to the mat fighting to add Medicare negotiation to lower drug prices back into the Build Back Better plan,” David Mitchell, a cancer patient and founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, said in Rep. Craig’s press release. “Medicare negotiation is supported by 90 percent of voters who are depending on Congress to deliver years of promises to provide relief to patients struggling to afford their prescription medications. These members know that the moment for action is now to enact meaningful reforms that will fix a rigged system and restore balance to ensure we get the innovation we need at prices we can afford. The fight is not over, and we are proud to stand with these members.” Momentum has been building over the weekend to ensure that the most popular provision — allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices — is included in the Build Back Better Act. Congressional leaders have been working to agree on meaningful provisions for the package that would lower prices for patients. Democratic members on both sides of the Capitol have been clear that Medicare negotiation must be included in the final package. Last week, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now and AARP demanded Congress add drug pricing reform into the Build Back Better Act. Patients For Affordable Drugs Now called the lack of its inclusion in the president’s framework “a huge failure” and AARP said it is “outraged” by the exclusion. Read the full letter here and below. |
| October 31, 2021 The Honorable Nancy Pelosi Speaker U.S. House of Representatives Washington, D.C., 20515 The Honorable Steny Hoyer Majority Leader U.S. House of Representatives Washington, D.C., 20515 Dear Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer: Thank you for your leadership and continued efforts to lower the cost of prescription drugs. As majority-makers in competitive districts, we promised our constituents that we would come to Washington to fight on their behalf for lower drug prices. We cannot turn back now on our promise to the American people. We urge you in the strongest terms possible to include legislative language in the Build Back Better Act that will be voted on by the full House to accomplish this. The pharmaceutical industry has gouged the American public for decades. As a country, we spend hundreds of billions of dollars a year on prescription drugs, and yet our constituents must often choose between purchasing prescribed medications or putting food on the table. It is unacceptable that anyone in the wealthiest country in the world cannot access the medications they need to stay alive. With two lobbyists per Member of Congress, we know that Big Pharma is deeply invested in the status quo. Our current system forbids Medicare from negotiating the prices it pays for prescription drugs. As a result, millions of Americans are forced to spend thousands of dollars a year on their medications – or go without. In many cases, as with insulin, these medications have been on the market for decades. In 1991, a bottle of Humalog insulin cost $21. Today the average list price is over $300. That is inexcusable. In these instances, we are not paying for research and development. By allowing the cost of drugs like insulin to rise year after year, we are financing soaring executive salaries, stock buybacks and outrageous profit margins on the backs of our seniors. With the Build Back Better agenda, we have a perhaps once in a generation opportunity to change the status quo and make good on our promise that no one should have to choose between affording their prescription drugs or food or housing. The public is on our side. Big Pharma is not. Soon, we must go back to our districts and explain what we’ve done in Washington to make our constituents’ lives better. We ran on upsetting the status quo and lowering out-of-pocket costs for healthcare and prescription drugs. If we fail, we’ll need to explain to them why we let Big Pharma win, why we let entrenched special interests take precedence over the American people. You have dedicated your careers to lowering the cost of healthcare. We stand with you in your continued efforts. The moment is now. We must deliver on our promise to lower the amount of money our constituents pay for prescription drugs. We must demonstrate that we work for the American people and not the pharmaceutical industry. Our constituents are counting on us. |
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The following statement was issued by David Mitchell, a cancer patient and founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, in response to President Biden’s Build Back Better framework released today:
“The lack of provisions to lower drug prices in the Build Back Better framework is a huge failure that will harm millions of Americans who are counting on Democrats and the president to deliver on their promises and provide desperately needed relief. It is an indictment of our entire political system that a handful of members of Congress who are working on behalf of Big Pharma have so far blocked reform.
“On behalf of patients, we demand that congressional Democrats reject this framework until it includes the most popular provision: effective Medicare negotiation to lower drug prices for Americans. This means allowing Medicare to negotiate prices on expensive drugs crushing patients, inflationary caps on price increases in Medicare and the commercial sector, and capping out-of-pocket costs for Medicare beneficiaries.
“Without Medicare negotiation, the Build Back Better framework goes against the will of 90 percent of voters — Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike. It maintains the status quo, leaving millions of Americans paying almost four times what people in other wealthy nations pay for the same brand-name drugs, and facing heartbreaking and life-threatening decisions between paying their bills and picking up their prescriptions.
“Until these provisions are included, this plan does not deliver on the promises made by the president and Democrats and does not provide the relief patients need. It must be rejected.”
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| WASHINGTON, D.C. — In response to recent efforts by sponsors of a drug pricing bill to replace meaningful drug pricing provisions in the Build Back Better plan with features of their own bill, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now sent a letter to all six sponsors outlining why their legislation is not Medicare negotiation, but rather legislation designed to preserve the drug industry’s unfettered ability to keep dictating prices. “The Reduced Costs And Continued Cures Act is nothing more than a fraud masquerading as negotiation,” David Mitchell, a cancer patient and founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, says in the letter. “In fact, instead of allowing negotiation, the bill blocks negotiation on virtually all prescription drugs and preserves the power of drug companies to dictate monopoly prices. This bill would thwart the will of 90 percent of Americans who want Medicare to negotiate on their behalf.” The letter examines the bill to reveal how the sponsors have constructed the legislation to preclude negotiation on most of the drugs that are costliest to patients and Medicare, using three criteria: 1. Prohibiting negotiation on any drugs in Medicare Part D, which covers the majority of drugs and represents the most spending. 2. Prohibiting negotiation on any drugs in their periods of FDA-granted market exclusivity or initial patent exclusivity. 3. Prohibiting negotiation on drugs once there is a competitor on the market, which typically occurs only after a drug’s period of exclusivity has expired. Read the full letter below. “In order to stand with patients and your constituents, we are calling on you to halt your attempts to incorporate these broad exclusions into the Medicare negotiation provisions in the Build Back Better Act,” Mitchell continues in his letter to the six members. “Stand with patients for strong Medicare negotiation provisions and enforcement mechanisms that will empower negotiation on the costliest drugs taking a toll on patients; this will ensure Americans get the innovation they need at prices they can afford.” All six members supported H.R. 3, a comprehensive bill that allows Medicare to negotiate lower prices, in 2019. But this fall, Reps. Peters, Schrader, Rice, and Murphy voted against the provision’s inclusion in the Build Back Better plan. Reps. Correa and Gottheimer have not been faced with a vote on the legislation yet, but all six sponsors signed a letter expressing concern about the comprehensive legislation in addition to signing on to the pharma-backed legislation. P4ADNow is currently running an ad urging Democrats to keep their promise and pass real Medicare negotiation that will reduce prices on costly, monopoly brand-name drugs. |
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| Ad Responds To Reps. Peters, Rice, And Schrader And Senator Sinema’s Attempt To Gut Medicare Negotiation Legislation |
| WASHINGTON, D.C. — In response to recent attempts by a small group of Democrats to gut Medicare negotiation provisions in the Build Back Better reconciliation package, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now released a new ad today urging Democrats to keep their promise and pass real Medicare negotiation that will reduce prices on costly, monopoly brand-name drugs. The ad features Therese Ball, a registered nurse and multiple sclerosis patient, and will run on national networks and digital platforms, as well as in Southern California, New York, Oregon, and Arizona starting this week. “Instead of standing with their constituents and supporting legislation that would let Medicare negotiate lower drug prices, pharma henchmen Reps. Scott Peters, Kathleen Rice, and Kurt Schrader — aided and abetted by Senator Kyrsten Sinema — are serving their Big Pharma campaign contributors by pushing an alternate bill that would exempt the most expensive drugs from negotiation and leave drug companies with the power to continue dictating prices for brand-name drugs,” said David Mitchell, a patient with incurable blood cancer and founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “Medicare negotiation is the most popular priority of the Build Back Better plan. Patients need relief now with real negotiation to lower the prices of brand-name drugs that are crushing us — not a bill that excludes those drugs and sells us out to Big Pharma.” Watch the ad here. Masquerading as Medicare negotiation, the alternate proposal that Reps. Peters, Rice, and Schrader and Senator Sinema are pushing would not allow for negotiation on the most costly drugs in both Parts B and D nor drugs still in their period of monopoly exclusivity. It would maintain the status quo, leaving drug corporations with the power to continue dictating prices of brand-name drugs and American patients paying four times what people in other nations pay for their prescription medicines. “The medications I need to live are priced at over $7,000 every month. I can’t afford these prices — I don’t know how anyone can,” multiple sclerosis patient Therese Ball of Ogden Dunes, Indiana, says in the ads. “It makes me so angry that members of Congress are choosing Big Pharma over patients — it’s unforgivable.” This new ad launches as President Biden has been pushing Democrats to settle outstanding issues in the Build Back Better reconciliation bill and pass a bipartisan infrastructure plan by the end of October. “Some in Congress are siding with Big Pharma to gut the plan to let Medicare negotiate lower drug prices,” the ad says while showing images of Rep. Peters, Senator Sinema, Rep. Schrader, and Rep. Rice. “Tell Democrats and President Biden to keep their promise. Don’t let Big Pharma dictate prices.” |
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OREGON — In response to yesterday’s reporting that Rep. Kurt Schrader (OR-05) is among a group of Democrats pressuring Congress to weaken or abandon Medicare negotiation provisions in the reconciliation package, the following statement was issued by David Mitchell, a cancer patient and founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now:
“Americans are paying almost four times what other nations pay for brand-name drugs. But instead of supporting legislation that would let Medicare negotiate lower drug prices for Americans, Rep. Schrader is pushing a substitute that would exempt the most expensive drugs from negotiation and leave drug companies with the power to continue dictating prices for brand-name drugs. The proposed alternate bill supported by Rep. Schrader is a sellout to Big Pharma that renders Medicare negotiation meaningless and fails to deliver on Democrats’ promise to help patients by lowering drug prices.
“To be clear, effective Medicare negotiation legislation must allow negotiation for all drugs under both Parts B and D as well as drugs still in their period of exclusivity. Rep. Schrader’s proposal is masquerading as Medicare negotiation and would maintain the status quo, leaving patients paying by far the highest prices in the world for their prescription drugs.
“Medicare negotiation is the most popular priority of the Build Back Better plan and 91 percent of voters in Rep. Schrader’s district want Congress to pass Medicare negotiation. If this alternative proposal moves forward, voters will remember that when given the choice, Rep. Schrader chose to carry Big Pharma’s water instead of acting on behalf of his constituents’ needs.”
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