WASHINGTON D.C. — Patients For Affordable Drugs Now launched a nearly $1 million campaign in support of the Department of Health and Human Services’ proposal to lower drug prices in Medicare Part B. 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 proposal because the changes could actually rein in outrageous drug prices. Patients For Affordable Drugs Now’s campaign will include digital advertisements, patient fly-ins, polling, and videos featuring patients who stand to access more affordable drugs under the proposal.
“American patients pay far more than people in other countries for prescription drugs, and it’s just plain wrong,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “Out-of-control drug prices force hard working Americans to choose between groceries and their medications. HHS has a promising plan to use an International Pricing Index to bring U.S. drug prices more in line with drug prices in other wealthy countries. We’re standing up in support of this change because America’s prescription drug pricing system is broken, and patients need change now.”
The nationwide ads on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Google will urge Americans to contact their senators and representatives in support of the HHS Part B demonstration (examples below).
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 careor 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.
Patients For Affordable Drugs Now recently released a petition signed by more than 1,500 patient advocates urging the administration to move forward with the proposal to lower drug prices in Medicare Part B. The letter was accompanied by a video featuring Ruth Rinehart, a patient with primary immune deficiency from Florida, and Mike Gaffney, a resident of Washington State who lives with a rare form of multiple myeloma called POEMS syndrome. In the video, the patients speak directly about what the Part B changes would mean for them.
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WASHINGTON, DC –– By a 71-point margin, voters support the Department of Health and Human Services’ proposal to lower drug prices in Medicare Part B by implementing an International Pricing Index (80 percent support vs. 9 percent oppose). Majorities from both parties believe Democrats and Republicans in Congress should support the proposal that would lower prices for infused drugs administered in physician offices and hospitals.Importantly, 8 in 10 voters believe the proposal will result in better care or have no impact on the care they receive. Click here to read the poll.
Support for the proposed Medicare Part B reforms are widely popular.
Voters say drug prices are too high and both Congress and the President should do more to lower them.
“Voters in this country are clamoring for reforms to lower drug prices and they want officials in Washington to take action to bring prices more in line with other wealthy nations,” said David Mitchell, a Medicare beneficiary, cancer patient, and the Founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs NOW. “This proposal will lower list prices and out-of-pocket costs for patients.”
75 percent of voters support—and 50 percent strongly support—the element of the proposal that will change the way doctors are paid to administer the drugs from a percentage to a fixed fee, thereby eliminating the incentive to prescribe more expensive drugs.
The telephone survey of 1,000 likely voters was conducted by GS Strategy Group from December 11-13, 2018. 50 percent of the interviews were completed via cell phone. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.2 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — As Big Pharma spends millions to kill proposed reforms in Medicare Part B, it’s important to keep in mind why: The proposal will lower drug prices and reduce patient out-of-pocket costs. Under the draft proposal from the Department of Health and Human Services, prices for expensive infused drugs administered in physician offices and hospitals would be brought more in line with what people in other wealthy nations pay. Read a snapshot of what patients, legislators, and experts are saying about the potential reform.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT MEDICARE PART B REFORMS
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN): “Tennesseans often struggle to afford prescription drugs, and this proposal appears to put patients and taxpayers first.” [WSJ, 10/25/18]
Avik Roy: “The administration unveiled a new proposal to substantially reduce the price of certain costly drugs administered under Medicare.” [Forbes, 11/26/18]
Bloomberg News: “Trump’s plan is a refreshing change: an idea for lowering drug prices that might actually work.” [Editorial Board, 10/26/18]
Ruth Rinehart, Primary Immune Deficiency Patient: “As a patient who is reliant on the services of Medicare Part B and continues to the pay the price for drugs for which Medicare cannot negotiate, I am strongly in favor of the Trump Administration’s proposal to lower Part B drug prices.” [Tampa, FL, 12/18/18]
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA): “The administration has taken a proposal that we had suggested in Medicare Part B … we speak about market basket reference pricing. Taking a market basket of pricing paid by developed economies — Germany, Great Britain, Australia, and Japan — and the United States pays some multiple. The administration has put out a rule to do this in Medicare Part B where ultimately the American consumer will pay 1.26 times that market basket average. There are ways to get at this.” [STAT, 11/30/18]
Professor Rachel Sachs: “Of all the drug pricing proposals the Trump administration has introduced so far – and there have been many – this is by far the most ambitious.” [Health Affairs, 10/26/18]
Paul Kleutgen, cancer patient and former pharmaceutical executive: “The International Pricing Index Model for Medicare is a bold step to lower prices and out-of-pocket costs for people taking some of the most expensive drugs out there. That’s why the groups that profit from the current system are trying to stop it.” [St. James, NC, 12/18/18]
Dr. Peter Bach: “The proposed Part B payment model has multiple strong elements. It is an evaluation, if it works well it can be expanded, but if it doesn’t it can be sunset….It acknowledges that if the US does not have the political will to determine how much taxpayers should be paying for drugs, the US can still piggyback on the negotiations of other countries that have a strong tradition of fiscal responsibility with regards to health care and pharmaceutical costs.” [12/17/18]
Santa Rosa Press Democrat: “The Trump Administration wants to bring down those Medicare drug prices, keeping them more in line with prices charged abroad. A similar plan floated by the Obama Administration drew fierce opposition and was shelved.” [Editorial Board, 11/24/18]
Dr. Vincent Rajkumar: “Yes this may reduce Part B prices if it survives the onslaught of comments and lobbying that is sure to come from @PhRMA.” [Twitter, 10/27/18]
Mike Gaffney, cancer patient:“It is deeply frustrating to me that Medicare does not have the ability to negotiate, meaning that we pay 80% more than other wealthy countries like ours. That is why I am supportive of the Trump Administration’s plan to lower Medicare Part B drug prices for drugs like the infusion I received for a year and a half.” [Olympia, WA, 12/18/18]
Dr. Aaron Kesselheim: “The IPIM would likely lower prices in the U.S. because many other countries evaluate the value a new drug provides as part of a process of negotiating a price with the manufacturer.” [12/17/18]
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Big Pharma is opening its wallet and pulling out the same old scare tactics to block a proposal that would lower drug prices in Medicare Part B. Under a draft proposal from the Department of Health and Human Services, Medicare would pay only 26 percent more than other wealthy countries for drugs administered by physicians or in hospital settings instead of the 80 percent more it pays today. But before public comments have been filed, special interest groups and drug company lobbyists are mounting an effort to kill the proposed reforms. A Big Pharma front group is bankrolling a $1 million ad campaign to falsely smear proposed Part B changes. The claims in the ads are lies — pure and simple. Patients For Affordable Drugs NOW will be sending letters to radio stations requesting that they cease airing these misleading ads immediately.
BIG PHARMA SPENDING TO KILL A MEDICARE PART B CHANGE
Radio ads: A Pharma-funded front group secretly bought $998,884 in radio ads across the country. The ads encourage residents to call Senators and tell them to oppose the Part B proposal. See a list of the ad rates and stations running the spot here and here, and listen to the ad here.
Digital Ads: The drug industry’s lobbying arm, PhRMA, is blanketing Washington health publications in an attempt to mislead policymakers and the public. Click here to view the PhRMA-sponsored ads.
New Web Pages: PhRMA’s misleading campaign includes a raft of blogs packed with inaccurate information that suggests patient care would be under threat if drug prices are lowered in the Medicare program.
AstroTurf Tactics: A coalition of hundreds of so-called patient advocacy groups entangled with Big Pharma interests sent a misleading letter to Congressional leadership. Read the letter here.
MYTH vs FACT
Blog posts and advertisements by Big Pharma contain a multitude of falsehoods, misleading statements, and outright lies. Here are a few:
Big Pharma Myth: Changes to Medicare Part B “threaten patient access to treatment options and care.”
Fact: As an organization that represents patients who are kept alive by Part B drugs, we are outraged that Big Pharma claims the proposal would hinder patient access. Under this proposal, Medicare would pay only 26 percent more than other wealthy countries, down from the current average of 80 percent more. This move would increase access to lifesaving drugs by bringing U.S. prices more in line with other wealthy nations. There is no evidence this proposed Part B demonstration would impact patient access to drugs unless drug corporations withhold drugs from patients.
Big Pharma Myth: The system works fine just the way it is and the government should not “replace a market-based system with government price setting.”
Fact: The system is broken. Doctors who administer Medicare Part B drugs are incentivized to choose higher-priced medications because they benefit from the reimbursement structure in the Medicare program. Patients are forgoing medication because they cannot afford the drugs. Medicare already sets the prices for these drugs –– it is the average sales price plus 6 percent, which is 80 percent higher than what people pay in other wealthy nations.
Big Pharma Myth: The Part B demonstration will “weaken incentives for the development of new treatments for serious, life-threatening diseases.”
Fact: Nine out of 10 big pharmaceutical companies spend more on advertising and marketing than on research. Taxpayers foot the bill for basic science that leads to new drugs through the $37 billion spent by the National Institutes of Health. According to HHS, the proposed Medicare changes could reduce drug company R&D spending by less than one percent. We can have both innovation and lower prescription drug prices.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The fight to lower drug prices can feel lopsided –– a recent poll found Americans believe drug corporations have the most influence in Washington. Yet, late last night, patients scored an important win in the fight against Big Pharma. Congress rejected Big Pharma’s attempt to use the opioid bill to give themselves a $4 billion bailout.
“Big Pharma lobbied aggressively –– and spent a lot of money –– in this brazen cash grab,” said Ben Wakana, Executive Director of Patients For Affordable Drugs NOW. “But patients and their allies stood up and said ‘enough.’ And Congress listened.”
Patients For Affordable Drugs NOW is proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with groups like the AARP, the American Hospital Association, and others who worked together to block the bailout. American patients will remain vigilant; we’re just getting started.”
Big Pharma tried to secure a $4 billion bailout….
“‘PhRMA is begging’ lawmakers to reverse that decision in unrelated opioids legislation, a GOP congressional aide said.” [Axios, 9/20/18]
“Pharmaceutical industry lobbyists were ‘livid’ when the February policy passed.” [STAT News, 3/8/18]
“The powerful pharmaceutical industry has been pushing for months to roll back a provision from February’s budget deal that shifted more costs onto drug companies. [The Hill, 9/20/18]
“Big Pharma is making a major push to reclaim $4 billion in Medicare Part D funds that Congress took away in the 2018 budget deal.” [Modern Healthcare, 9/20/18]
“Drugmakers had been aggressively lobbying lawmakers to reverse that policy as part of the opioids bill.” [Axios, 9/25/18]
“PhRMA has been trying to undo the provision since it passed. Now, the group has latched on to a multi-part bill to fight the opioid epidemic—which advocates say the industry created in the place—to roll back the discount to 63%.” [AJMC, 9/21/18]
Big Pharma lost…
“A concerted effort by patient-advocate groups successfully blocked the last-minute add that would have given drug companies a $4 billion windfall.” [The Washington Post, 9/26/18]
“Aside from opioid policy, drug companies also failed in an intense lobbying push to attach a provision to the bill easing their costs in Medicare.” [The Hill, 9/25/18]
“The brand drug industry came up empty-handed, failing to get a reduction in how much it pays for drugs in Medicare Part D’s coverage gap into the final bill.” [Politico, 9/26/18]
“…pharma lobbyists set to work after Congress increased the industry’s share of responsibility in the Medicare Part D coverage gap earlier this year. But the industry was rebuffed again when its effort to include a partial reversal in an opioid bill was rejected.” [FiercePharma, 9/26/18]
“patient advocates…persuaded Congress to reject attempts by PhRMA to use opioids legislation to reduce the drug industry’s costs for subsidizing the Part D Medicare program.” [BioCentury, 9/26/18]
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The drug corporations that fueled America’s opioid epidemic are trying to get a $4 billion bailout in the fast-moving opioid legislation. According to multiple news reports, Big Pharma is close to inserting language into the opioid package that would roll back drug companies’ share of costs in the Medicare donut hole from 70 percent to 63 percent. This would mean a massive bailout for Big Pharma and higher costs for patients.
Read all about it below:
POLITICO: “A last-minute effort by the drug industry to tuck favorable policy changes into legislation responding to the opioid crisis is meeting health industry resistance…”
AXIOS: “‘Sounds like the size of the fix for pharma could be maybe 2-3x bigger than the opioids funding,’ a House Democratic aide said.”
THE HILL: “Lawmakers are considering adding a provision easing costs on drug companies to an opioid package currently being negotiated. The powerful pharmaceutical industry has been pushing for months…”
STAT NEWS: “Republicans on Capitol Hill are attempting to use a bill to address the opioid crisis to deliver a major victory for the pharmaceutical industry.”
WASHINGTON EXAMINER: “The pharmaceutical lobby is mounting a last-ditch effort to add a measure to an opioid abuse bill that would block an increase to the portion of a drug’s cost the industry must cover under Medicare.”
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Big Pharma is cutting a backroom deal to make seniors pay more for their prescriptions so drug corporations can keep reaping record profits and buying back stock. Today, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now activated its community in an effort to stop this $4 billion windfall that would hurt seniors and help Big Pharma. Watch the kickoff ad here.
In February, Congress agreed to close the prescription drug “donut hole” a year early for Medicare beneficiaries. This is a good deal for seniors and a rare win for patients, consumers, and taxpayers over drug companies. But today, drug corporations are swarming Congress with lobbyists and astroturf groups trying to undo the deal and force Medicare beneficiaries to pay more.
“Big Pharma is up to its usual dirty tricks,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient, Medicare beneficiary, and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “This go-round, the drug corporations are pushing for a rollback of good policy in order to pad their profit margins and make the rest of us foot the $4 billion bill. Both Congress and the public need to know and put a stop to it. The drug industry wants to pay less and make us pay more.”
Under a bipartisan agreement signed by President Trump earlier this year, drug corporations are responsible for giving a 70 percent discount on drugs in the donut hole starting next year. That’s up from a 50 percent discount this year.
Big Pharma is lobbying to only pay 64 percent of costs in the Part D donut hole instead of the 70 percent that was passed by Congress. This would result in a $4 billion windfall for the drug industry at the expense of patients.
Patients For Affordable Drugs Now is standing shoulder-to-shoulder with AARP and other consumer advocacy groups to stop this giveaway to Big Pharma.
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Patients are speaking up about how Bob Hugin’s decision to double the price of a lifesaving cancer drug resulted in debt, bankruptcy, and financial pain for middle class families. Patients from New Jersey and across America are warning Garden State voters that Big Pharma CEO Bob Hugin made more than $100 million by raising drug prices so high that cancer patients were forced into debt just to stay alive. Patients For Affordable Drugs NOW is publishing the stories as part of an effort to lift up the patient voice ahead of New Jersey’s U.S. Senate race and shine a light on Bob Hugin’s unscrupulous record.
“Bob Hugin’s unethical behavior to block less expensive generics and double the price of cancer medications patients need to stay alive has real-world consequences best expressed by those who have been hurt,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient who took Hugin’s drug and president of Patients For Affordable Drugs NOW. “While he walked away with $140 million, people like Gulay Turan had to sell her furniture to afford the drug she needed to extend her mother’s life. Hugin cannot be a U.S. Senator.”
Read what patients have to say about their struggles to afford the prescription drugs Hugin price gouged.
For interviews with patients featured on the blog, contact Communications Director Juliana Keeping.
By Gulay Turan
East Rutherford, NJ
Gulay Turan maxed out credit cards and sold her furniture in order to afford her 66-year-old mother’s blood cancer medication, Revlimid. “I learned he increased the cost of my mother’s medicine by 100 percent in a decade, and I want him to know this action has consequences. The consequence is my mother is getting sicker, faster…If I could speak to the man responsible for the cost of my mother’s cancer medication, I would tell him about the heartbreak and crushing stress I feel.”
By Nancy Cartwright
Las Vegas, NV
To pay for the cancer drugs that kept her husband alive, Nancy Cartwright emptied her 401k, burned through her family’s savings account, and sold her family home. It wasn’t enough. Nancy and her husband eventually filed for bankruptcy. One of the drugs that forced the Cartwrights into financial ruin was the Celgene drug Thalomid.
“Besides bearing witness to my husband’s physical pain, I also witnessed the immense mental toll the cost of his medication took on him. It’s so hard to watch someone suffer and not be able to do anything to help. My hair even began to thin from stressing over his medication costs,” Cartwright said.
“I am facing as much as $19,167 a year just to stay alive”
By Jackie Trapp
Muskego, WI
Jackie Trapp, 53, who has multiple myeloma, must pay for Revlimid or a similar drug for the rest of her life. She worries she will bankrupt her husband of 30 years due to her medication costs. “With my current insurance, I am facing as much as $19,167 per year just to stay alive,” she said, adding “There is no justification for Celgene’s price hikes under Bob Hugin and no justification for lack of transparency into his former corporation’s price hikes. Bob Hugin is a dangerous choice for senator.
Paid for by Patients For Affordable Drugs NOW, www.fightpharma.org. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
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