WASHINGTON, D.C. — The following statement was issued by David Mitchell, a cancer patient and founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, in response to reports of Senate Democrats advancing historic, comprehensive drug pricing reforms:
“It is indeed good news for patients and all Americans that Senate Democrats are moving forward with a comprehensive plan to lower prescription drug prices. When enacted into law, these reforms will be historic. For the first time, Medicare will be able to negotiate lower drug prices directly with drug corporations, penalties will be imposed on companies that raise prices faster than the rate of inflation, and there will be an annual out-of-pocket cap for beneficiaries in Medicare Part D.
“Each of these changes will help bring relief from unrelenting high drug prices in the United States, which run almost four times what other nations pay for the same brand-name drugs. Americans — Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike — overwhelmingly support these reforms, and those in Congress who help get them across the finish line will be rewarded at the ballot box in November. The way forward is clear; the momentum is strong. The Senate must pass the package through reconciliation this summer. We will do everything in our power to help get the job done.”
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The following statement was issued by David Mitchell, a cancer patient and founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, in response to Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Susan Collins’ legislation Improving Needed Safeguards for Users of Lifesaving Insulin Now (INSULIN) Act:
“The bipartisan effort by Senators Shaheen and Collins is further evidence of the power of the drug pricing issue for voters of all political persuasions — Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike. Members of Congress understand that Americans want action to lower drug prices — and insulin has special poignancy.
“People with diabetes are at the mercy of unjustly high insulin prices, and a $35 copay cap would deliver relief to those with insurance. Four out of five adults who live with diabetes or are caregivers for someone with diabetes have gone into debt to pay for insulin.
“But this legislative text does not guarantee lower list prices for insulin, without which copay caps will result in cost-shifting for insulin and lead to higher premiums and taxes. Without lowering list prices, the insulin copay caps are estimated to cost more than $20 billion over 10 years, according to a Congressional Budget Office score of the insulin copay cap bill passed by the House of Representatives. It is difficult to imagine insulin makers will voluntarily reduce their net prices. History tells us we cannot rely on pharma to do the right thing, and this bill does not offer any enforcement.
“Conversely, Senate Democrats have a unique opportunity right now to pass comprehensive legislation that would both cap insulin copays and lower the list price of insulin and other critical drugs. The drug price provisions passed by the House and under consideration by the Senate will cap insulin copays to $35, prevent drug corporations from price gouging patients with year-over-year increases, and finally allow Medicare to negotiate directly with drug companies for lower prices on prescription drugs, including insulin.
“There are millions of patients who rely on expensive medications who urgently need the reforms in the drug pricing package, including, most importantly, Medicare negotiation. There is a path forward in the Senate to pass the legislation through reconciliation. President Biden believes the votes are there to pass drug pricing reform, Speaker Pelosi expressed optimism for the reconciliation bill, Senator Manchin and Majority Leader Schumer’s negotiations on reconciliation have resumed, and Senator Manchin remains committed to passing comprehensive drug pricing reforms.
“In order to deliver on their promises to all patients — including those who depend on insulin — the Senate’s number one priority on drug pricing must be to pass the broad drug price provisions through reconciliation.”
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The following statement was issued by David Mitchell, a cancer patient and founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, in response to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee’s passage of a package that includes three amendments that would crack down on Big Pharma’s abuses of the drug pricing system:
“We applaud Chairwoman Murray, ranking member Burr, and members of the Senate HELP Committee for advancing S. 4348, which reauthorizes the FDA user fees and includes three key amendments to improve the U.S. drug pricing system to boost competition by easing the process for generic competition to come to market and drive down drug prices for patients. The bipartisan citizen petition provision, offered by Senator Baldwin (D-WI) and championed by Senators Shaheen (D-NH), Cassidy (R-LA), Bennet (D-CO), and Rubio (R-FL), will help restore integrity to the FDA citizen petition process by closing a loophole manipulated and abused by brand-name drug makers to slow the approval of lower-priced generics and keep prices high for patients.
“For years, the P4ADNow patient community has been calling on Congress to pass legislation to prevent Big Pharma from using the citizen petition process to delay or block more affordable generic drugs from coming to market. On behalf of patients across the country, we thank Senators Baldwin, Shaheen, Cassidy, Bennet, and Rubio for their work fighting for patients.
“We urge the Senate to quickly pass the FDA user fee package with the citizen petition, orphan drug, and generic drug approval transparency reforms intact.
“The committee’s approval of these provisions adds important momentum to the work being done in the Senate to pass a reconciliation package that includes the comprehensive drug price reforms, including Medicare negotiation, already passed by the House of Representatives. The Senate must advance the reconciliation package to deliver relief to all American patients.”
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Background:
First and foremost, thank you for all of your support and hard work these past few weeks helping us continue the push for drug pricing reforms. We have not slowed our roll here at Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, and neither have tireless advocates like you. We have called on you to send messages to Congress, submit letters to the editor of your local newspaper, and help us amplify what legislators in Washington need to hear: Americans need lower prescription drug prices now.
The good news is our work is paying off. Leader Schumer and Senator Manchin are reportedly negotiating a reconciliation package behind closed doors that will include the drug price reforms already passed by the House of Representatives last fall. All 50 Senate Democrats have indicated their support for that drug pricing package. For the first time in months, Senator Manchin is saying he believes they can reach a deal and get this done. That is progress, and it’s due in no small part to the hard work and outreach by patients like you.
The reality is that with the legislative calendar growing shorter and the midterm elections fast approaching, time is running out for members of Congress to deliver on their promise to lower drug prices. We need the Senate to move with dispatch. This week, senators are in their home states, where they will undoubtedly hear from constituents like you about unconscionably high drug costs. When they return to D.C., they must take up the legislation and pass it.
That’s why we are continuing to push as hard as we can. The fight for Medicare negotiation has been going on for nearly two decades, and now we are so close to getting it done. Thousands of you stood up and shared your stories and called for action. Without you, we would not be on the threshold of historic reform. I am so grateful.
We will keep you updated on what is happening and how you can help in the coming weeks. Patient voices have been the most important factor in this fight. Now, let’s keep working to win.
David Mitchell
Cancer Patient And Founder Of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The following statement was issued by David Mitchell, a cancer patient and founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now:
“We are encouraged by signs of progress in the Senate — Leader Schumer and Senator Manchin are reportedly in quiet negotiations on a reconciliation package that will include the drug price reforms already passed by the House of Representatives. Lowering drug prices is a top priority for voters, the reforms have overwhelming bipartisan support, and President Biden yesterday again called on Congress to send drug price legislation to his desk. All 50 Senate Democrats have indicated their support for the drug pricing package under consideration.
“With the legislative calendar growing shorter and the midterm elections fast approaching, time is running out for members of Congress to deliver on their promise to the American people to lower drug prices. We need action. After spending time in their home states — where they will undoubtedly hear from constituents about unconscionably high drug costs — the Senate must return and advance these reforms. Patients across the country are depending on it.”
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The following statement was issued by David Mitchell, a cancer patient and founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, following Jamie McLeod-Skinner’s primary victory in Oregon’s 5th Congressional District:
“Drug price reform figured prominently in Oregon’s 5th Congressional District primary, where Rep. Kurt Schrader tried to reinvent himself as pro-patient and anti-Big Pharma when he in fact led the effort to weaken legislation allowing Medicare negotiation. Voters saw through his lies, and for the first time in 42 years, an incumbent member of Congress lost his job in an Oregon primary. The result sends a clear message to Democrats and Republicans alike: Americans want Congress to pass legislation to lower drug prices, and those who stand in the way or fail to deliver on their promises will be held accountable by voters at the ballot box. More talk won’t do. Fake solutions won’t do. No more excuses. Right now, the Senate can deliver on its promises; the votes are there. The Senate must use its power under reconciliation now to enact the comprehensive reforms to lower drug prices already passed by the House of Representatives.”
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ICYMI: Roundup Of Overwhelming Momentum To Advance Comprehensive Drug Pricing Reforms By Memorial Day
70 Organizations Continue “Push For Lower Rx Prices”
Members Of Congress And President Biden Push For Lower Rx Prices
Senate Outreach And Digital Blitz
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| The “Push For Lower Rx Prices” Calls For Meaningful Progress On Comprehensive Drug Pricing Reforms By Memorial Day |
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Patients For Affordable Drugs Now launched a six-figure ad campaign today as part of the “Push For Lower Rx Prices.” The two new video ads feature patients who have struggled with the high prices of their prescription drugs calling on Congress to pass comprehensive reforms, including Medicare negotiation. Jacqueline Garibay is a college student from Austin, Texas, and lives with ankylosing spondylitis, and Lisa McRipley of Detroit lives with multiple sclerosis. The 30-second videos are running on digital platforms in Washington, D.C., this month. Today’s announcement is part of a larger campaign launched by P4ADNow and more than 70 other organizations last week pressing the Senate to make meaningful progress on comprehensive drug pricing reforms, including Medicare negotiation, by Memorial Day. As a part of the campaign, P4ADNow is also driving grassroots advocacy in key states, where patients call and write their senators to ask for their support advancing the drug price provisions through reconciliation.
“Americans are demanding that Congress deliver on its promises to lower drug prices. Eighty-three percent of voters back Medicare negotiation and 77 percent are in favor of limiting annual drug price increases, including support from large majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and independents,” said David Mitchell, a patient with incurable blood cancer whose drugs carry a list price of more than $900,000 per year and founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “The Senate has the power to deliver an unprecedented victory for Americans by passing comprehensive drug pricing reforms, including empowering Medicare to negotiate. It’s time to get it done.”
The first ad features Jacqueline Garibay, a college student and patient advocate who lives with ankylosing spondylitis, an autoimmune disorder that affects most of her major joints. “The last time we had to buy my medication, I decided to forgo it. We just couldn’t afford $6,000 a month,” Jacqueline of Austin, Texas, says in the ad. “If Congress doesn’t lower drug prices now, a whole ’nother generation of us will suffer.”
Watch Jacqueline’s ad here.
The second ad features Lisa McRipley, a patient advocate for P4ADNow and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society from Detroit. “The medication I need to treat my MS is nearly $7,500 a month. I’m on Medicare, and I still can’t afford that,” Lisa says in the ad, explaining that without her medication, her multiple sclerosis could progress irreversibly. “Congress can fix this. We can’t afford to wait. Please, Congress, let Medicare negotiate lower drug prices.”
Watch Lisa’s ad here.
“Lisa’s story is far too common among the nearly 1 million people living with MS in the United States. 40 percent of people with MS already don’t take their medications as prescribed due to cost,” said Bari Talente, executive vice president of advocacy and healthcare access at the National MS Society. “We call on Congress to pass comprehensive reforms to lower drug prices and increase access to medications as soon as possible. Lisa and many others can’t afford congressional inaction.”
The “Push For Lower Rx Prices” is supported by organizations representing patients, consumers, seniors, unions, small businesses, large employers, physicians, nurses, and disease advocacy groups.
The drug price provisions under consideration by the Senate will, for the first time, authorize Medicare to negotiate prices directly for some of the most expensive prescription medicines, including insulin; institute a hard cap on out-of-pocket drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries and limit copays on insulin for millions of Americans to $35 each month; and limit annual price increases to stop price gouging by drug corporations.
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