Patients For Affordable Drugs Now Applauds Oregon Senate for Passing Bill Penalizing Big Pharma for Abusive “Pay-For-Delay” Deals

SALEM, Ore. — The following statement was issued by Sheila McLean, a patient and the executive director of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, after the Oregon Senate passed SB 764, which cracks down on abusive “pay-for-delay” deals between pharmaceutical manufacturers that delay generic competition and keep drug prices high:

“Oregonians have been suffering from high drug prices at the whim of Big Pharma for far too long. SB 764 would rightfully prohibit pharmaceutical companies from rigging the system to delay less expensive, generic medications from coming to market. This legislation would finally give Oregonians the access to less expensive prescriptions they desperately need. On behalf of patients, we urge the Oregon House to move quickly to pass this bill.”

Background: 

• SB 764 would: 
  • Prohibit an anti-competitive drug industry tactic called “pay-for-delay,” in which a brand-name drug maker cuts a deal with a generic company to delay the introduction of a lower-priced drug to market. 
  • Allow the Oregon attorney general to bring civil action against companies involved in such deals with penalties up to three times the value of the drug, or $10 million (whichever amount is greater).
• Oregon patient advocate Michael Nielsen testified in front of the Senate Committee on Health Care in support of SB 764 in March. Nielsen’s wife, Jacki, was diagnosed with the potentially fatal disease hepatitis C, and her medication is priced at more than $13,000 — or $433 per pill. Nielsen explains how unaffordable this is for the couple in a recent op-ed in The Bend Bulletin, and his story is featured in an article in The Lund Report.
• SB 764 will go to the House Committee on Health Care next, before it moves to the House floor for a vote in the coming weeks. 

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The following statement was issued today by David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, in response to the reintroduction of H.R. 3 The Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act:

“H.R. 3 is the comprehensive package of reforms patients need to lower prices of prescription drugs while ensuring continued innovation and new drug development. Too many Americans are struggling to pay almost four times what patients in other wealthy nations pay for the same drugs — forced to choose between spending on bills or food and buying the medications they need. H.R. 3 will provide relief to Americans by allowing Medicare to negotiate directly with drug companies for lower prices and by preventing price gouging.  

“On behalf of patients, who overwhelmingly support Medicare negotiation, we are grateful to the leadership and members of the House of Representatives for this critical legislation. This is the reform President Biden and Democrats have promised. This is the time to get it done.”

Background: 

• The bill would: 
  • Allow Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices and extend lower prices to all Americans with public or private sector insurance.
  • Limit the negotiated price of drugs in Medicare to no more than 120 percent of the average of six other OECD nations.
  • Limit annual out-of-pocket costs for Medicare beneficiaries to no more than $2,000. Currently, seniors can pay more than $15,000 a year for a single prescription drug.
  • End drug company price gouging by penalizing drug companies that increase prices in Medicare Parts B and D faster than the rate of inflation. 
  • Support innovation and new drug development by investing some of the expected savings into the world-class research being conducted at the National Institutes of Health.
• Patients are suffering — skipping doses of their medications and choosing between buying groceries or picking up their medications.
  • Americans pay almost four times the prices in other countries for prescription drugs.
  • Nearly 40 percent of people reported difficulty affording their medications in the last year. 
  • Communities of color are disproportionately impacted by high drug prices. Due to economic, political, and social conditions, people of color are almost twice as likely to be uninsured and have lower incomes, making drugs even more unaffordable.
• With Medicare negotiation, patients will pay less for their prescriptions and lives will be saved. 
  • Right now, more than 1.1 million Medicare patients could die over the next decade because they cannot afford to pay for their prescriptions. 
  • If Medicare were empowered to directly negotiate prices with drug companies, there could be 94,000 fewer deaths annually.
• Americans overwhelmingly support Medicare negotiation. Nearly 90 percent of voters support Medicare negotiation, including 92 percent of Democrats and 85 percent of Republicans.  
  • More than 60 percent of small business owners believe that Medicare should be able to negotiate for lower prices on behalf of Americans. 
  • The vast majority of voters agree that addressing high drug prices should be a top priority for President Biden and Congress.

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SAINT PAUL, Minn. — The following statement was issued by Sheila McLean, a patient and the executive director of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, after the Minnesota House of Representatives passed House Commerce Bill 1031, which includes a prescription drug affordability board: 

“We applaud the Minnesota House for advancing a bill that includes the establishment of a prescription drug affordability board. The affordability board would rein in drug prices and offer relief to Minnesotans struggling under the high price of prescription drugs by establishing upper payment limits for expensive medications. On behalf of patients across Minnesota, we urge both the House and the Senate to include the board in the final commerce bill this spring.”

Background:

• The prescription drug affordability board and advisory council in Section 2 of HF 1031 would:  
  • Establish a prescription drug affordability board and an advisory council. These entities would work together to analyze drug pricing data and determine which drugs are excessively priced and cause affordability challenges. 
  • If a drug is found to create an affordability challenge, the board may establish an upper payment limit to all drug purchasers and payers in Minnesota. 
• Minnesota patient advocate Travis Paulson, who lives with type 1 diabetes, testified in support of the original bill (HF 801) in March. His insulin, which he needs to survive, currently costs $300 a vial, or $1,500 per month. Paulson has had to work odd jobs, living paycheck to paycheck in order to stay alive. 
• Both Paulson and Ramae Hamrin, who lives with the incurable blood cancer multiple myeloma, spoke at a press conference in support of HF 801 in February. Revlimid, the oral chemotherapy drug that keeps Hamrin alive, is priced at over $250,000 a year. Even on Medicare, she faces out-of-pocket costs of $15,000 a year.
• A 2020 survey released by Altarum Healthcare Value Hub revealed nearly half of Minnesotans worry about being able to pay for prescription drugs. The survey found nearly 90 percent of respondents support the establishment of a prescription drug affordability board.

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AUGUSTA — Patient advocates Lori Dumont, Miriam Wolfe, and Sabrina Burbeck will testify today in front of the Maine state legislature’s Health Coverage, Insurance, and Financial Services Committee in favor of a package of bills aimed at taking on drug companies and lowering prescription drug prices for Mainers. The bill package, Making Health Care Work for Maine, was introduced last month by Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, along with Senate Majority Leader Eloise Vitelli, Senator Cathy Breen, and Senator Ned Claxton. 

Lori Dumont, from Brewer, will share that when her brother, a taxi driver, couldn’t afford his $750-per-month insulin, he was found unresponsive in his home and barely survived after a month in the intensive care unit. 

“All of this trauma and financial distress could have been avoided if insulin were affordable,” Dumont will say to the committee. “It has been almost 100 years since insulin was discovered, and there is still no affordable option for people like my brother.” 

Miriam Wolfe of York was recently diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and was told by her doctor that she will need Remicade infusions, which are priced at about $3,500 per month. 

“I only receive $840 per month from Social Security… I don’t know how I’m going to pay these bills,” Wolfe will explain. “The entire package of bills, including LD 675, 1171, 673, and 120, is pivotal to curb drug prices and hold Big Pharma accountable so that patients like me can afford the drugs we desperately need.”

The Making Health Care Work for Maine package includes the following legislation: 

1. LD 675, led by Senator Claxton, would clamp down on unsupported price increases by fining pharmaceutical manufacturers that increase drug prices without justification. 
2. LD 1117, led by Senate President Jackson, would prohibit price gouging on generic and off-patent drugs and give the state attorney general authority to bring penalties against drug companies that refuse to lower prices. 
3. LD 673, led by Senator Breen, would create an insulin safety net program to provide emergency access to affordable insulin for Mainers needing immediate relief. 
4. LD 686, led by Senate Majority Leader Vitelli, would strengthen prescription drug pricing transparency by requiring the Maine Health Data Organization to share information collected from drug companies with the public. 
5. LD 120, led by Senate President Jackson, would establish the Office of Affordable Health Care to help examine the factors contributing to rising prices. 

Sabrina Burbeck’s 8-year-old son, Dakota, lives with type 1 diabetes and relies on insulin to survive. Humalog, the type of insulin that Dakota is prescribed, is priced at $350 for a month’s supply. 

“No mother should have to worry if the life of her bright, loving, and curious child will be cut short because the price of their medication spikes overnight or they simply can’t afford it one month,” Burbeck, from Old Town, will share. “There are so many families like mine. Mainers all over the state are crippled by the cost of their prescription drugs.”

Burbeck also spoke at last month’s press conference, where President Jackson, D-Aroostook, Senate Majority Leader Vitelli, D-Sagadahoc, Senator Breen, D-Cumberland, and Senator Claxton, D-Androscoggin, unveiled the health care package. 

The hearing and Dumont, Wolfe, and Burbeck’s testimonies can be watched here at 10:00 AM ET. 

Following the hearing, the bill package will be subject to a working session in the coming weeks. 

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AUGUSTA, Maine — Today, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now endorsed the Making Health Care Work for Maine package, a sweeping new package of bills aimed at taking on drug companies and lowering prescription drug prices for Mainers. The pieces of legislation were introduced by Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, along with Senate Majority Leader Eloise Vitelli, Senator Cathy Breen, and Senator Ned Claxton.

“We applaud Senators Jackson, Vitelli, Breen, and Claxton for this comprehensive drug price reform package,” said Sheila McLean, executive director of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “Patients For Affordable Drugs Now is proud to lend its endorsement of this legislation that would bring relief to Mainers suffering from the high price of prescription drugs.”

The package includes five pieces of legislation that would hold Big Pharma accountable by expanding pharmaceutical drug price transparency requirements, prohibiting unwarranted price hikes on both brand-name and generic prescription drugs, and providing support to the Maine prescription drug affordability board established by 2019’s LD 1499. The package would also provide relief to Mainers living with diabetes by creating emergency access to insulin at affordable prices.  

In Old Town, Maine, Sabrina Burbeck knows all too well the impact that high-priced insulin has on families. Her 8-year-old son, Dakota, lives with type 1 diabetes and relies on insulin to survive. Humalog, the type of insulin that Dakota is prescribed, is priced at $350 for a month’s supply. 

“No mother should have to worry if the life of her bright, loving, and curious child will be cut short because the price of their medication spikes overnight or they simply can’t afford it one month,” Burbeck explained at today’s press conference held by Senator Jackson. “The Making Health Care Work for Mainepackage is about reining in health care costs while providing immediate access to life-saving medication. It’s about making health care work for families like mine.”

The Making Health Care Work for Maine package includes the following legislation:  

1. LD 675, led by Senator Ned Claxton, would clamp down on unsupported price increases by fining pharmaceutical manufacturers that increase drug prices without justification. 
2. LD 1117, led by Senate President Troy Jackson, would prohibit price gouging on generic and off-patent drugs and give the state attorney general authority to bring penalties against drug companies that refuse to lower prices. 
3. LD 673, led by Senator Cathy Breen, would create an insulin safety net program to provide emergency access to affordable insulin for Mainers needing immediate relief. 
4. LD 686, led by Senate Majority Leader Eloise Vitelli, would strengthen prescription drug pricing transparency by requiring the Maine Health Data Organization to share information collected from drug companies with the public. 
5. LD 120, led by Senate President Troy Jackson, would establish the Office of Affordable Health Care to help examine the factors contributing to rising prices. 

The legislature’s Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee will hold public hearings on all five bills in the coming weeks. 

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SALEM, Ore. — Today, Oregon patient advocates Joanna Olson, Janet Bacon, and Mike Nielsen will testify in front of the Oregon Senate Health Care Committee in support of Senate Bill 844, which would establish a prescription drug affordability board and stakeholder council in an effort to rein in high drug prices for Oregonians. 

Joanna Olson of Beaverton, Oregon, suffers from a blood clotting condition and was prescribed Eliquis, which costs her $430 for a month’s supply. “Every time I pick up the prescription, I think about leaving without the drug,” Olson, 86, will explain. “A common medicine needed by millions like Eliquis shouldn’t break the bank for seniors like me, who live on a fixed income.”

In Happy Valley, Oregon, Janet Bacon’s inhaler Spiriva is priced at $478 a month. “If my drug prices continue to go up, I don’t know how I will get by — I worry about needing to sell my home and property to afford the medications I need,” Bacon, a retiree and a Medicare beneficiary, will say. “A prescription drug affordability board would hold Big Pharma accountable for its outrageous pricing practices and bring much needed relief to me and patients across our state. I urge you to vote in support of Senate Bill 844.”

SB 844 would establish a prescription drug affordability board and stakeholder council designed to review prices for prescription drugs that meet specified cost criteria. The board would:

• Be required to establish an upper payment limit for drugs that create or are expected to create affordability challenges for health systems and patients in Oregon, or health inequities for communities of color.
• Identify drugs based on manufacturer reporting, including: 
  • Increases to the wholesale acquisition cost of any brand drug by $3,000 or more during a 12-month period or drugs coming to market at a wholesale acquisition cost of $30,000 per year or per course of treatment;
  • Generic drugs with a wholesale acquisition cost of $100 or more;
  • Existing generic medications that increase in price by 200 percent or more per year or per course of treatment.

Mike Nielsen’s wife, Jacki, was diagnosed with the potentially fatal disease hepatitis C. Her doctor prescribed her the curative drug Mavyret, which costs over $13,000 for a 90-day supply — or $433 per pill. That was unaffordable for the couple. “It’s wrong what the drug companies are allowed to get away with by playing the system and preventing more affordable generics from coming to market,” Mike Nielsen, a 69-year-old Vietnam veteran in Bend, Oregon, will tell the committee. “I am asking our legislators to fight for patients like us.”

The hearing and Olson, Bacon, and Nielsen’s testimonies can be watched hereat 1:00 PM PT. 

Senate Bill 844 is one of three bills taking on high drug prices. The Senate Health Care Committee also held a hearing on pharmaceutical reform Senate Bills 764 and 763, which are now moving through amendments for a final vote.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The following statement was issued today by David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, on the confirmation of Xavier Becerra as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: 

“Congratulations to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. President Biden made a great choice to lead HHS, and Becerra’s confirmation is a win for patients across the country who are struggling with high drug prices. We look forward to working together to restore balance to our system by ensuring patients get the innovation they need at prices they can afford. We know we can have both.”

BACKGROUND: 

• In his confirmation hearing in front of the Senate HELP Committee Feb. 23, Becerra confirmed that tackling the high price of prescription drugs would be a top priority for him as Secretary of HHS. 
• During his hearing in front of the Senate Finance Committee Feb. 24, Becerra reasserted his commitment, promising to work with Congress on a bipartisan solution for prescription drug pricing.
• As attorney general of California, Xavier Becerra sponsored and helped pass AB 824, which bans collusive pay-for-delay deals and promotes generic drug competition. 
  • Becerra successfully defended the legislation in court, warding off multiple industry legal challenges. 
  • Becerra worked with Patients For Affordable Drugs Now to elevatepatient stories in support of the first-in-the-nation legislation. 
  • Becerra has led multiple coalitions of state attorneys general calling for the regulation of pharmacy benefit managers to increase transparency and improve drug affordability.
  • In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Becerra urged the federal government to make Gilead’s COVID-19 drug remdesivir more affordable because it was developed using taxpayer funding.
• During his 24 years in the House prior to serving as attorney general, Becerra co-sponsored multiple bills that would allow Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices. 
  • As chair of the House Democratic Caucus, Becerra formed a task force “to examine the rising cost of prescription drugs” in 2016.

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As The Fight To Lower Drug Prices Ramps Up, Audrey Baker Will Lead P4AD’s Communications Efforts

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The bipartisan advocacy organization Patients For Affordable Drugs, and its sister organization Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, today named Audrey Baker as its communications director. Audrey will take leadership of overall communications, including media relations. Audrey has worked in advocacy communications for over five years, most recently at the communications firm M+R, where she led media strategy for reproductive rights, criminal justice, housing, food advocacy, and humanitarian campaigns. 

“Audrey’s sharp communications skills, storytelling, and advocacy experience will be pivotal to our efforts to achieve meaningful drug pricing reform,” said Sheila McLean, executive director of Patients For Affordable Drugs and Patients For Affordable Drugs Now.

In addition to her communications and media relations experience, Audrey has worked as an organizer for local, state, and federal campaigns. 

“With Congress and the White House turning to drug pricing legislation, now is the time to ramp up our advocacy efforts to win the fight for affordable drugs,” McLean added. 

Patients For Affordable Drugs is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. It is the only independent national patient organization focused exclusively on policy changes to lower prescription drug prices. Patients For Affordable Drugs Now is a not-for-profit 501(c)(4) organization focused on advancing policies to lower drug prices. Both are independent and bipartisan and neither accepts funding from any organizations that profit from the development or distribution of prescription drugs.

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