RICHMOND — Big Pharma is furiously lobbying Washington to protect its profits, but Rep. Abigail Spanberger is fighting for patients as she works to lower drug prices. That’s why today, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now launched a six-figure campaign to thank Rep. Spanberger for her leadership in the fight to lower drug prices.
Watch the ad campaign videos, “Jackie,” and “Gail.”
Under current law, Medicare is prohibited from negotiating directly with drug companies, and as a result the average American pays two to three times more for prescription drugs than citizens in other wealthy countries. Rep. Spanberger supports policies to let Medicare negotiate directly with drug companies. Additionally, Spanberger is a cosponsor of the bipartisan SPIKE Act, which requires drug manufacturers to justify large price increases and high launch prices for drugs.
“Virginians are being crushed by high drug prices, and Rep. Spanberger is fighting back,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “We want to send a message to voters in VA-7: Big Pharma is spreading scare tactics and lies, but Rep. Spanberger is standing up for patients.”
As part of the campaign, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now will release a slew of digital ads that show the toll high prescription drug prices are taking on everyday Americans, offer a suite of tools that encourage Americans to contact their representatives in support of lowering drug prices, and share stories of patients suffering under prescription drug prices on social media.
These ads come on the heels of a campaign in August when Patients For Affordable Drugs Now thanked GOP Senators who supported the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2019.
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.
The mission of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now (P4ADNow) is public education and advocacy regarding America’s need to curb drug prices. Touted by The Hill as “a leading drug pricing advocacy group,” Patients For Affordable Drugs Now is a bipartisan non-profit organization established under Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Service code. As a 501(c)(4), P4ADNow engages in electoral activity and direct advocacy in support of legislation that would lower drug prices.
###
LANSING — Big Pharma is furiously lobbying Washington to protect its profits, but Rep. Slotkin is fighting for patients as she works to lower drug prices. That’s why today, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now launched a six-figure campaign to thank Rep. Slotkin for her leadership in the fight to lower drug prices. The average American pays two to three times more for prescription drugs than those in other wealthy countries.
Watch the ad campaign videos, “Jackie,” and “Gail.”
Rep. Slotkin is a cosponsor of H.R. 3 — a bill that would let Medicare negotiate directly with drug companies and make lower prices available to all Americans — regardless of insurance type. The legislation would penalize drug companies for charging Americans more than citizens of other countries. It would limit drug price increases to the rate of inflation and cap out-of-pocket costs for seniors in Medicare at $2,000 per year. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says the bill would reduce the cost of the most expensive drugs by as much as 55%.
“Michigan residents are being crushed by high drug prices, and Rep. Slotkin is fighting back,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “We want to send a message to voters in MI-8: Big Pharma is spreading scare tactics and lies, but Rep. Slotkin is standing up for patients.”
As part of the campaign, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now will release a slew of digital ads that show the toll high prescription drug prices are taking on everyday Americans, offer a suite of tools that encourage Americans to contact their representatives in support of lowering drug prices, and share stories of patients suffering under prescription drug prices on social media.
These ads come on the heels of a campaign in August when Patients For Affordable Drugs Now thanked GOP Senators who supported the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2019.
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.
The mission of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now is public education and advocacy regarding America’s need to curb drug prices. Touted by The Hill as “a leading drug pricing advocacy group,” Patients For Affordable Drugs Now is a bipartisan non-profit organization established under Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Service code. As a 501(c)(4), P4ADNow engages in electoral activity and direct advocacy in support of legislation that would lower drug prices.
###
DUBUQUE — Big Pharma is furiously lobbying Washington to protect its profits, but Rep. Abby Finkenauer is fighting for patients as she works to lower drug prices. That’s why Patients For Affordable Drugs Now today launched a six-figure campaign to thank Rep. Finkenauer for her leadership in the fight to lower drug prices.
Watch the campaign ads, “Jackie,” and “Gail.“
Under current law, Medicare is prohibited from negotiating directly with drug companies, and as a result the average American pays two to three times more for prescription drugs than citizens in other wealthy countries. Rep. Finkenauer supports letting Medicare negotiate directly with drug companies. Additionally, Finkenauer is a co-sponsor of the bipartisan CREATES Act, a bill that woud crack down on a tactic drug companies use to block lower-cost generics.
“Iowans are being crushed by high drug prices, and Rep. Finkenauer is fighting back,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “We want to send a message to voters in IA-1: Big Pharma is spreading scare tactics and lies, but Rep. Finkenauer is standing up for patients.”
As part of the campaign, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now will release a slew of digital ads that show the toll high prescription drug prices are taking on everyday Americans, offer a suite of tools that encourage Americans to contact their representatives in support of lowering drug prices, and share stories of patients suffering under prescription drug prices on social media.
These ads come on the heels of a campaign in August when Patients For Affordable Drugs Now thanked GOP Senators who supported the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2019.
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.
The mission of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now (P4ADNow) is public education and advocacy regarding America’s need to curb drug prices. Touted by The Hill as “a leading drug pricing advocacy group,” Patients For Affordable Drugs Now is a bipartisan non-profit organization established under Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Service code. As a 501(c)(4), P4ADNow engages in electoral activity and direct advocacy in support of legislation that would lower drug prices.
###
WASHINGTON — As millions of Americans demand lower drug prices, momentum continues to build for policy changes out of the House and Senate. Three House committees voted to advance HR 3, two Republican senators announced their strong support for the Senate Finance Package, and patients spoke up in a multi-million dollar ad campaign urging Washington to rein in skyrocketing drug prices without delay.
“The past week demonstrates that the power of millions of Americans demanding lower drug prices can overcome Big Pharma’s false claims and fear mongering,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “Americans are done listening to pharma’s tired lies and are pushing their elected officials to act immediately.”
In the past week, America has witnessed:
Polling shows Americans say lowering drug prices should be Congress’s top priority among all health issues. Almost 90 percent of Americans support allowing the government to negotiate directly with drug corporations. Four out of five Americans blame high drug company profits for high prices. Three out of four Americans don’t trust drug companies to price their products fairly.
###
SACRAMENTO — A California grandmother plans to stand up to Big Pharma at a state senate hearing Wednesday, sharing her story about unaffordable prescription drugs and speaking in favor of AB 824 — a first-in-nation bill that would end a drug company tactic used to block lower-priced generic competition.
Karen Macedon, a Sacramento waitress who lives with asthma and type 2 diabetes, will tell the Senate Health Committee, “Not a day goes by when I don’t think about the impact these conditions have on my life and the growing burden of paying for the medications that treat them.”
Karen’s diabetes medication costs more than $800 a month. There is no generic option.
AB 824, legislation introduced by Assemblymember Jim Wood (D-Santa Rosa) and sponsored by state Attorney General Xavier Becerra, would make illegal a Big Pharma scheme called “pay-for-delay,” in which a brand drug maker pays a generic manufacturer not to bring a competitive product to market, driving big drug company profits and hurting patients waiting for less-expensive prescription drugs.
Macedon’s testimony will be delivered on Wednesday, July 3 before the Senate Health Committee at 1:30 PM.
Key points from Karen Macedon’s prepared remarks:
###
HARRISBURG, Pa. — As Pennsylvania state lawmakers weigh key measures to protect residents from Big Pharma’s skyrocketing drug prices, patients are calling for reform. One bill would require more transparency from drug manufacturers, triggered by price increases that hit certain thresholds. A second measure would establish a Prescription Drug Pricing Task Force to study the issue of rising drug prices and recommend legislative solutions.
HB 568 would:
HB 1042 would:
“Pennsylvanians are desperate for relief from crushing drug prices,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “While there is still work to be done to lower the list prices of drugs, these important bills could give state residents more information about rising costs and reasonable solutions to assuage unrelenting price increases.”
Today, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now published a series of patient stories on its website to underscore the urgency of the drug pricing crisis in Pennsylvania.
Melissa Evans, Wilkes-Barre, PA: “Affording all of the medications I need to survive has become such a burden. I have to make many difficult decisions to make sure my needs are met. Half of the time I don’t even take my prescriptions because the co-pays are just far too high. I don’t fill it if I can’t afford it –– it’s as simple as that.”
Michelle Rzeplinski, McAdoo, PA: “These drug prices are killing me, both in the physical and the financial sense. If my drugs were more affordable, my health would greatly improve. Lower prices would mean better access to the medications that are prescribed to me.”
Lynn Seabrook, Wilkes-Barre, PA: “It is sad to say, but I sometimes feel like I would be better off dead –– especially at the end of the month, after prescriptions have been purchased and we are completely broke. My husband has not had a new pair of shoes in years, and I worry about the burden my drug costs places on my family.”
BACKGROUND:
###
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In light of today’s news that Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced a groundbreaking bipartisan bill that would outlaw two tactics Big Pharma wields to maintain monopoly pricing power, David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, issued the following statement:
“Drug corporations have run amok — abusing our patent system and leaving Americans bankrupt and sick. Two egregious tactics they use to maintain high prices are patent thickets and product hopping. Drug companies file scores of patents in an effort to thwart generic competition, or they bring a new drug to market with small, inconsequential differences in order to prevent a competitor from entering at a lower price. These tactics block free-market competition and keep drug prices high.
“We wholeheartedly endorse the Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act, and we applaud the work of Senators Cornyn and Blumenthal. This bill will speed generic drugs to market without hurting innovation.
“Momentum is building as Republicans and Democrats collaborate to fix our broken system. We look forward to working in support of this legislation, and we hope today’s bill will be included in any upcoming package of reforms.”
BACKGROUND:
###
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Patients For Affordable Drugs founder David Mitchell will tell his story of living with incurable blood cancer and will debunk Big Pharma’s claim that patients won’t get innovative drugs without paying high prices at a 10:00 AM hearing today on rising drug prices.
Read his full testimony here.
Mitchell’s testimony will highlight stories of patients skipping doses and going into debt to afford rising prescription drug prices. And he’ll focus on the fact that right now, nearly 1 in 3 adults report not taking their medicines as prescribed because of the cost. He’ll also discuss three legislative solutions to fix our broken system:
Key Points From Mitchell’s Testimony:
Patients For Affordable Drugs is a national patient organization focused exclusively on policies to lower prescription drug prices. We amplify the voices of Americans struggling under crushing drug prices to make policymakers and elected officials see the heavy toll of high-priced drugs. Patients For Affordable Drugs does not accept contributions from any organizations that profit from the development or distribution of prescription drugs.
###