ANNAPOLIS, Md. — In a groundbreaking move, the Maryland House of Delegates voted 98-40 to create a Prescription Drug Affordability Board, an independent body with the authority to evaluate high-cost prescription drugs and set rates for state and local governments to pay. The bill, HB 768, now moves to the Maryland Senate Finance Committee with a chance to set a model for the nation and fundamentally reshape how states address skyrocketing prescription drug prices.
“Maryland residents have been sending letters and making calls to lawmakers in support of the state’s effort to get a better deal on prescription drugs,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “We all pay for Pharma’s unfettered greed, and Maryland residents are struggling to fill both the kitchen pantry and the medicine cabinet. The status quo needs to change, and the Prescription Drug Affordability Board can be a national model.”
The Prescription Drug Affordability Board bill, sponsored by Senator Katherine Klausmeier and Delegate Joseline Peña-Melnyk would:
In January, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now launched a five-figure campaign to give Maryland residents tools to contact their elected officials in support of measures to address rising drug prices. The interactive digital tools allow residents to contact their senators and representatives in support of the proposed changes. P4ADNow is working in support of the legislation along with partners including the Maryland Health Care For All Coalition, AARP Maryland, and the NAACP.
According to recent polling from the Kaiser Family Foundation, only 25 percent of Americans say they trust drug corporations to price their products fairly, down from 41 percent in 2008.
Patient Perspective
Stahis Panagides is a Marylander, Parkinson’s patient, and Medicare recipient whose life has been directly impacted by skyrocketing prescription drug prices.
“My doctor recently prescribed Rytary to mitigate my disease. But even with my robust Medicare plan, I am not able to afford the $400 monthly price tag on this drug. It’s heartbreaking to know that there’s a drug out there that could treat my symptoms, but I can’t access it because the price is just too high,” Stahis told Patients For Affordable Drugs Now.
Patients For Affordable Drugs Now is a bipartisan national patient organization focused exclusively on policies to lower drug prices. To maintain its independence, the group does not accept donations from organizations that profit from the development and distribution of prescription drugs.
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OLYMPIA, Wash. — As key hearings are expected this week on two drug pricing bills in the Washington state legislature, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now launched a new digital campaign to give Washington residents tools to contact their elected officials in support of measures to address rising drug prices. The bills — SB 5292 and HB 1224 — would shed much-needed light into the pricing tactics of drug companies. By requiring that Big Pharma report and provide explanations for increases in drug prices, the bills are an important step toward ensuring that all patients can afford the medications they need.
“Passing this legislation would mean drug corporations won’t be able to blindside patients and taxpayers with arbitrary price hikes,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “Washingtonians deserve to know why their drugs are so expensive, and SB 5292 and HB 1224 are a step in the right direction.”
Each bill is scheduled for key committee votes this week, and patients have already begun to send letters in support of the bill. Washington’s drug pricing legislation would help protect the state and residents like retired forester Mike Gaffney from price hikes. Gaffney, of Olympia, testified earlier this month that he lives with a rare form of blood cancer called multiple myeloma. The price for his cancer medication, Revlimid, skyrocketed 20 percent in 2017 alone. The drug now costs $250,000 a year.
SB 5292 and HB 1224 would:
The Facebook ads above are part of a five-figure campaign in support of legislation to lower drug prices. The interactive digital tools allow residents to contact their senators and representatives in support of the proposed changes.
Patients For Affordable Drugs Now is a bipartisan national patient organization focused exclusively on policies to lower drug prices. To maintain its independence, the group does not accept donations from organizations that profit from the development and distribution of prescription drugs.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Patients For Affordable Drugs Now released a new digital ad in support of the Department of Health and Human Services’ proposal to adopt an International Pricing Index to lower drug prices in Medicare Part B.
Watch the video here.
Under the proposal, Medicare would pay only 26 percent more than other wealthy countries for drugs administered by physicians or in hospital settings — that’s compared to the 80 percent more it pays today. But Big Pharma is attacking the International Pricing Index because the changes could actually rein in outrageous drug prices.
In a new video, cancer patient and Patients For Affordable Drugs Now founder David Mitchell debunks the myths that drug corporations are spreading about the International Pricing Index. Mitchell points out that, under the changes, his drug prices would drop by $100,000, and his access to life-sustaining treatment would remain exactly the same.
“There’s a bipartisan plan in Washington that would lower the price of my drugs by $100,000,” Mitchell says in the video. “ But Big Pharma has mobilized its message machine, lobbying furiously and spending millions to stop it. Pharma says it will stifle innovation, allow government bureaucrats to control my health care, block my access to these drugs. None of that is true.”
The video release is part of a nationwide, nearly $1 million campaign in support of the International Pricing Index that includes ads on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Google. The ads urge Americans to contact their senators and representatives in support of the proposed changes.
According to a recent poll, voters support the HHS proposal to lower drug prices by a 71-point margin (80 percent support vs. 9 percent oppose). Majorities from both parties agree that Democrats and Republicans in Congress should support the proposal.
Importantly, Americans find Big Pharma’s claim that the proposed reforms would hinder patient access to be wrong. Eight in 10 voters believe the proposal will result in better care or have no impact on the care they receive. That’s bolstered by the fact that nine out of 10 big pharmaceutical companies actually spend more on advertising and marketing than on research and development, according to The Washington Post. There is no evidence the proposed Part B changes would impact patient access to drugs unless drug corporations withhold drugs from patients.
TRANSCRIPT
I have incurable blood cancer.
The drugs keeping me alive are priced at $325,000 a year.
There’s a bipartisan plan in Washington that would lower the price of my drugs by $100,000.
But Big Pharma has mobilized its message machine, lobbying furiously and spending millions to stop it.
Pharma says it will stifle innovation, allow government bureaucrats to control my health care, block my access to these drugs.
None of that is true.
The truth is the International Pricing Index keeps all the protections we now have to ensure access to these drugs.
It just brings the prices we pay in the US more in line with what other countries pay.
We can’t let Big Pharma and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce with their millions of dollars of high-powered lobbyists stop this proposal from taking effect that would help so many Americans.
Tell your members of Congress to support the International Pricing Index.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the price of specialty drugs explodes, more and more Americans are going without the prescriptions they need, data from two new government reports show. According to the Congressional Budget Office, net spending on speciality drugs in Medicare Part D increased by more than 275 percent — from $8.7 billion to $32.8 billion — over a recent five year period. Meanwhile, a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows one in 10 Americans are rationing medication. The uninsured are more vulnerable to egregious hikes, with one-third reporting rationing medication in response to high drug prices.
Specialty drugs — expensive medications that treat serious and life-threatening conditions like cancer, cystic fibrosis, and multiple sclerosis — are driving the spending, a new report from the Congressional Budget Office shows. Specialty drugs introduced after 2015 are driving the trend; in Medicare Part D, the drugs accounted for nearly one-third of net spending but less than 1 percent of all prescriptions.
The statistics only tell part of the story.
Ohio resident Bob Fowler, 68, has private insurance today and has delayed his retirement while battling cancer to avoid paying the king’s ransom in cost sharing he’d owe under Medicare Part D for his multiple myeloma drug, Revlimid.
“I want to live many more years in spite of my blood cancer,” Fowler said. “To have a shot at that, I need two things: life-saving drugs at an affordable price.”
CBO and CDC KEY FINDINGS:
Taxpayer spending on specialty prescription drugs has exploded.
Patient out-of-pocket costs soared in Medicare, but less so in Medicaid.
In response to soaring prices, patients are going without their medications.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — New data from the Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services emphasized the need for Congress to pass the CREATES Act, a bipartisan bill that would lower drug prices and save taxpayers billions.
The CMS Drug Spending Dashboard revealed the cancer drug Revlimid, while taken by only 37,500 Americans on Medicare Part D, was responsible for the highest total spending for any drug in the program in 2017. Patients on Part D pay out-of-pocket costs based on the list prices of medications. Revlimid currently costs $21,000 per month, meaning Medicare Part D beneficiaries owe $2,600 for the first month’s supply of the medication.
“The CREATES Act would lower drug prices by stopping corporations like Celgene from blocking competition,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “This report reveals why this bill is so important. If passed, American patients would get access to less-expensive cancer drugs and taxpayers would save $3.9 billion.”
Celgene, the drug corporation that makes Revlimid, refuses to provide samples of the drug to generic drugmakers by hiding behind a federal safety program called Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies.
The FDA released a list of 150 brand drugmakers blocking generic drugmakers’ access to their products. At the time, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said, “I want to be very clear: a path to securing samples of brand drugs for the purpose of generic drug development should always be available.” Last week, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azarannounced that the Trump Administration supported passage of the CREATES Act.
According to polling conducted by the Republican-led research firm GS Strategy Group, voters support passage of the CREATES Act by an 83-to-9 margin.
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OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington state lawmakers can take a stand today on one of the most important issues facing residents — rising prescription drug prices. This morning, a Washington House committee will hold a hearing on SB 5292, a drug price transparency measure. Currently, drug companies raise the prices of prescription drugs with no advance notice or explanation, making it impossible for the state of Washington and its residents to prepare for price increases. The bill would shed much-needed light into the pricing tactics of drug companies. By requiring Big Pharma to report and provide explanations for increases in drug prices, this bill is an important step toward ensuring that all patients can afford the medications they need.
Testifying at the House committee meeting today is retired forester Mike Gaffney from Olympia. Mike lives with a rare form of the blood cancer called multiple myeloma. The price for his cancer medication, Revlimid, skyrocketed 20 percent in 2017 alone. The drug now costs $250,000 a year.
“On behalf of more than 6,200 patients in Washington engaged in efforts to lower prescription drug prices, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, a bipartisan national patient organization, strongly endorses Washington’s transparency efforts,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now.
The measure, SB 5292, would:
If passed, the legislation would ensure drug corporations won’t be able to blind side Washington patients or taxpayers with arbitrary price hikes. This bill is long overdue and a step in the right direction.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — During a noteworthy exchange at today’s Energy and Commerce Committee hearing, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar publicly endorsed four legislative proposals to lower drug prices and help patients: curbing REMS abuses, ending pay-for-delay deals, banning evergreening, and ending sham Citizen Petitions.
“With the Trump Administration endorsing four common-sense solutions to address a problem eight out of 10 American voters agree must be solved, it’s time for Congress to act,” said Ben Wakana, Executive Director of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “Congress should pass these proposals immediately to crack down on anticompetitive behavior and stop insidious tactics that disrupt the free market and hurt patients.”
During today’s hearing, Secretary Azar told Democratic Congressman Peter Welch (VT), the administration supported legislation to fix:
REMS ABUSES: Brand drug companies use a safety program called Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) as a pretext for not selling drug samples to generic companies, which need the brand product in order to develop an equivalent and lower-priced competitor. The CREATES Act would address delay tactics that are used by brand drug manufacturers to block lower-priced generic drugs. The U.S. could save $3.9 billion by stopping this abuse, which the FDA has called “unfair and exploitative.”
PAY-FOR-DELAY: Brand drug companies pay off generic companies that plan to bring a competitor to market. In exchange for this payment, the generic manufacturer delays its product’s entry into the market. Legislation would limit deals in which brand and generic drug manufacturers use anti-competitive pay-off agreements to delay cheaper generic and biosimilar drugs from reaching patients.
EVERGREENING: Drug corporations often change drugs incrementally and patent the new product, which extends a corporations’ monopoly pricing power. For example, a company might move from a tablet to a capsule and apply for a new patent. This gaming of the system should not be permitted under U.S. law.
CITIZEN PETITIONS: Brand drug makers were behind 92 percent of all citizen petitions filed between 2011 and 2015 –– all aimed at blocking cheaper generic drugs. The FDA denied more than nine of every 10 of those petitions. Congress should stop sham citizen petitions.
TRANSCRIPT
Congressman Peter Welch: You do support, as I understand it, ending pay-for-delay. Is that the case?
Secretary Alex Azar: We do. In fact, our budget has a unique pay-for-delay provision in that if you do a pay-for-delay agreement, you would actually be penalized in the Medicare Part B system.
Welch: Right. And you want to curb the REMS abuses?
Azar: Absolutely do. So, the CREATES Act and working with you on that.
Welch: Right. And the product hopping that has been occurring is another way. Are you opposed to that as well?
Azar: I want to make sure I’m understanding.
Welch: It’s the abuse of Citizen Petitions, it’s product hopping, and other forms of evergreening.
[Crosstalk]
Azar: Yes, we want to crack down on any forms of manipulation or evergreening of patents and exclusivity beyond what the original deals were.
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ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland lawmakers can take a stand today on one of the most important issues facing residents — rising prescription drug prices. Today, State House and Senate committees will hold hearings on proposed Prescription Drug Affordability Board legislation, HB 768 and SB 759. The measure would create an independent body with the authority to evaluate high-cost prescription drugs and set rates for Maryland residents to pay. Patients For Affordable Drugs Now today announced its endorsement of the legislation.
“Marylanders get it — Big Pharma sets prices that hurt patients and taxpayers,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “On behalf of the 4,500 Maryland residents in our community working to lower prescription drug prices, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now is proud to endorse this first-in-nation effort.”
The Prescription Drug Affordability Board bill, sponsored by Senator Katherine Klausmeier and Delegate Joseline Peña-Melnyk would:
According to recent polling from the Kaiser Family Foundation, only 25 percent of Americans say they trust drug corporations to price their products fairly, down from 41 percent in 2008.
Patients For Affordable Drugs Now is a bipartisan national patient organization focused exclusively on policies to lower drug prices. To maintain its independence, the group does not accept donations from organizations that profit from the development and distribution of prescription drugs.
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