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:
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:
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.”
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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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SAINT PAUL, Minn. — Eveleth patient Travis Paulson, who lives with type 1 diabetes, will testify in front of the Minnesota House State Government Finance and Elections Committee this afternoon in support of the bipartisan legislation HF 801, which would establish a prescription drug affordability board designed to address the high prices of prescription drugs for Minnesotans.
Paulson was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 14 and has struggled to keep up with the high price of insulin in recent years. His insulin, which he needs to survive, currently costs $300 a vial, which comes to $1,500 per month. Paulson has had to work odd jobs, living paycheck to paycheck in order to stay alive.
“Unfortunately for me, years of rationing insulin has caused long-term complications that never would have occurred if I had access to affordable insulin,” Paulson will tell the committee.
“These out-of-control drug prices have serious consequences for Minnesota patients and contribute to excessive costs for the state. We need our state government to pass House File 801, which would rein in drug prices while increasing transparency around the pricing practices of drug companies. Because drugs don’t work if people can’t afford them.”
HF 801 would:
The hearing and Paulson’s testimony can be watched here at 6:00 PM CT.
The bill was previously heard in the House Commerce Finance and Policy Committee, where patient advocate Ramae Hamrin testified in support of the bill. It passed out of committee on a 11 to 7 vote.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The following statement was issued by Sheila McLean, a patient and the executive director of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, after the Senate Finance Committee’s vote on the confirmation of Xavier Becerra as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:
“We call on Senate Majority Leader Schumer to move quickly to a vote to confirm Xavier Becerra for Secretary of U.S. Health and Human Services in the full Senate. In his confirmation hearings, Xavier Becerra was firm in expressing the Biden administration’s commitment to take on Big Pharma, tackle our broken drug pricing system, and work with Congress on bipartisan reforms that will bring down prescription drug prices for all Americans. We know from our experience working with him in California that he can get the job done.”
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SALEM, Ore. — Oregon patient advocate Michael Nielsen will testify in front of the Oregon Senate Committee on Health Care today in support of Senate Bill 764, which cracks down on abusive “pay-for-delay” deals between pharmaceutical manufacturers that delay generic competition and keep prices high.
Nielsen’s wife, Jacki, was diagnosed with the potentially fatal disease hepatitis C. In 2020, after Jacki’s illness progressed, her doctor prescribed her the curative drug Mavyret. But a 90-day supply of the medication is priced at more than $13,000 — 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,” Nielsen, 69, will tell the committee. “I am asking our legislators to fight for patients like us.”
The couple has devoted their lives to giving back to their community. Nielsen served two tours in Vietnam, and together, they have raised four children and 22 foster children.
“It’s sad to know that even though our family has served our community and our country, the system is still letting us down in our time of need. My wife needlessly suffered simply because her drug is too expensive.”
Senate Bill 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. The bill would 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. California was the first state in the nation to pass pay-for-delay legislation, and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has successfully defended the legislation in court.
Nielsen’s testimony and the hearing in the Senate Health Care Committee can be viewed here at 1 PM PT today.
SB 764 is part of a package of bills moving through the Oregon State Legislature that address high drug prices. The package also includes House Bill 3267, which would establish a prescription drug affordability board. HB 3267 was introduced last week and was referred to the House Committee on Health Care.
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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:
“Over two days of hearings, Xavier Becerra has reaffirmed his commitment to work with Congress on a bipartisan basis to develop and implement solutions that will lower prescription drug prices. In hearings before the Senate HELP and Finance Committees, Becerra demonstrated his experience and understanding of America’s broken drug pricing system and his commitment to help President Biden deliver on his promise to provide relief to patients.
“On behalf of patients across the country, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now urges the Senate to quickly confirm Xavier Becerra as Secretary of Health and Human Services. We look forward to working with Secretary Becerra in the weeks and months ahead.”
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