| The Campaign Urges The Senate To Advance A Reconciliation Package That Includes Reforms Already Passed By The House |
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Over 70 organizations representing patients, consumers, seniors, unions, small businesses, large employers, physicians, nurses, and disease advocacy groups today launched the campaign “Push For Lower Rx Prices.” The campaign calls on the Senate to advance a reconciliation package by Memorial Day that includes the comprehensive drug price provisions already passed by the House of Representatives. Organizations will be engaging in activities to push this legislation forward, such as running digital and TV ads, driving constituent contact to Capitol Hill, elevating patient stories, and organizing grassroots activities on social media to press the Senate to take action.
The campaign kicked off with a press conference on Capitol Hill. Speakers included Senators Amy Klobuchar (MN) and Catherine Cortez Masto (NV), patient advocates, and representatives from AARP, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, Doctors for America, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Purchaser Business Group on Health, and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Speaker quotes from the press conference are listed below.
“The moment for action is now. After years of promises to lower the prices of prescription drugs, voters are demanding elected officials follow through and pass meaningful reforms to fix the U.S. drug pricing system,” 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 House of Representatives has done its job by passing comprehensive reform, and the president has endorsed the package. It now falls to the Senate, through the reconciliation process, to enact the policies. The votes are there for this historic legislation, which will change the trajectory of drug prices in the United States and finally put patients first.”
A new national survey was also released today that demonstrates overwhelming bipartisan voter support for comprehensive drug pricing reform, including 83 percent of voters who back Medicare negotiation and 77 percent in favor of limiting annual drug price increases. Results also show that nearly 80 percent know the pharmaceutical industry can live with slightly lower profits and still provide the true innovation patients need, and 67 percent want Congress to take action to lower prices set by drug companies, not just to reduce out-of-pocket costs.
“Giving Medicare the power to negotiate will save seniors and taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars. American families cannot afford to lose that kind of money due to high drug prices,” said Jo Ann Jenkins, CEO of AARP. “AARP is fully committed to this fight and we won’t stop until we get relief for older Americans. Today we are calling on Congress to make this a priority for action now. It’s time to get this done!”
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.
The following are quotes from the speakers at today’s press conference:
“It’s time for Congress to fulfill its promise to lower the amount working families pay for prescription drugs,” said Bill Kramer, Executive Director for Health Policy at the Purchaser Business Group on Health. “Drug prices are already too high and are continuing to rise, bankrupting families, putting financial strain on businesses and dragging down the U.S. economy. Doing nothing is simply not an option. Policy solutions to lower drug costs must apply to all Americans in the name of fairness. The 180 million workers and families who receive health coverage through employers must not be left behind.”
“Six MS disease modifying treatments (DMTs) have increased in price more than 200% since coming on the market and people with MS face an out-of-pocket Medicare cost of more than $6,000 just for their MS DMT,” said Bari Talente, executive vice president of advocacy and healthcare access at the National MS Society. “Every day Congress delays, people with MS make the difficult decision to stop taking their medication due to cost and risk disease progression from which they won’t recover.”
“It is unacceptable that in a nation as wealthy as ours, 1 in 4 people have difficulty affording their prescriptions and we allow people to die because they do not have the money to pay for their lifesaving medicines. A person should never be forced to choose between buying the insulin they need to stay alive and keeping a roof over their head or food on the table for their families,” said Rita K. Kuwahara, MD, MIH and a national leader at Doctors for America. “Essential medicines such as insulin should be accessible and affordable for all, and it is critical that we, as a nation, commit to keeping families and communities healthy by guaranteeing that no one pays more than $35 dollars out-of-pocket per month for insulin, regardless of health insurance status. We must also ensure that every person has access to the medicines they need when they need them, regardless of finances, and allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, similar to how the Department of Veterans Affairs allows drug price negotiation. Congress must act now to make medicines affordable for all. Only once we ensure universal access to affordable lifesaving medicines will we begin to address existing health inequities and move towards improving the health of everyone in our nation.”
“People should not be forced to make the difficult decision between buying lifesaving medications or keeping the lights on. However, this is the sad reality faced by millions of working families of all races and occupations while pharmaceutical corporations enjoy making massive profits. That’s why SEIU members and retirees are urging Congressional lawmakers to put ideology and corporate interests aside and act to lower costs of prescription drugs. Our communities deserve a better deal,” said Valarie Long, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) International Executive Vice President.
“Lyrica is priced at over $850 for just one bottle. I need one to two bottles per month. I cannot afford that. So I made the very tough decision to go without it — forcing myself to live in pain, take less-than-ideal medications, go on disability, and retire early,” said Meg Jackson-Drage, a fibromyalgia patient and Medicare beneficiary from Utah. “We shouldn’t have to live in this reality. That is why I flew all the way from Salt Lake this week to come here and beg the Senate to finally deliver on its promise to bring relief to me and millions of Americans.”
“After graduating, I want to go to law school. But my dreams and independence are threatened by having to constantly worry about affording my treatment. I’m supposed to be studying at The George Washington University, but haven’t been able to attend college for the past year because of my pain. I shouldn’t have to choose between furthering my education and my mobility,” said Jacqueline Garibay, an ankylosing spondylitis patient from Texas. “I want the Senate to understand that passing comprehensive drug pricing reform will give me and millions of others peace of mind and the ability to pursue our dreams without worrying about whether the price of our drugs will stand in the way.”
A recording of the event can be viewed here, and photos are available upon request.
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| Voters Don’t Buy Big Pharma’s Claims About Reduced Innovation; More Than 4 Out Of 5 Believe Drug Companies Should Be Required To Negotiate Lower Prices With Medicare |
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new national survey released today demonstrates overwhelming and unwavering support among voters for Congress to take action to lower the prices of prescription drugs, including allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prices and curbing drug company price hikes. The poll, conducted by the bipartisan research team GS Strategy Group and Hart Research Associates, finds that 83 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.
Poll results show that American voters do not buy Big Pharma’s arguments against drug pricing reform, as nearly 80 percent of respondents say the pharmaceutical industry can live with slightly lower profits and still provide the innovation patients need, and almost 7 out of 10 say Congress must take action to lower prices set by drug companies, not just to reduce out-of-pocket costs. The poll also demonstrates the urgency of the issue, with 85 percent of voters believing Congress should make lower prescription drug prices an important priority and nearly 90 percent believing Congress has not done enough to address the issue.
“While our country wrestles with deep divisions on so many issues, the overwhelming popularity of prescription drug pricing reforms — including the ones before the Senate right now — is striking,” 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. “This issue is deeply personal for Americans, with almost half saying they or a family member have suffered harm to their health or finances because of high drug prices. The Senate can deliver an unprecedented victory for the people of this country by passing comprehensive drug pricing reforms, including empowering Medicare to negotiate, but it must take action now. Americans can’t wait.”
This new poll was released in tandem with a campaign launch, “Push For Lower Rx Prices,” joined by over 70 organizations representing patients, consumers, seniors, unions, small businesses, large employers, physicians, nurses, and disease advocacy groups. The campaign calls on the Senate to make meaningful progress by Memorial Day on a reconciliation package that includes the comprehensive drug price provisions already passed by the House of Representatives.
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.
Read the full poll memo here.
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| Over 70 Organizations Will Call On The Senate To Make Meaningful Progress On Comprehensive Drug Pricing Reforms By Memorial Day |
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Over 70 organizations representing patients, consumers, seniors, unions, small businesses, large employers, physicians, nurses, and disease advocacy groups will gather with Senator Klobuchar on Tuesday, April 26 at 11:00 AM ET to launch the campaign “Push For Lower Rx Prices.” The campaign calls on the Senate to advance a reconciliation package by Memorial Day that includes the drug price provisions already passed by the House of Representatives.
For a full list of all organizations that are part of the campaign, please contact Audrey Baker.
EVENT DETAILS:
To RSVP, please respond to Audrey Baker at [email protected]. There will be a Q&A section for press after the speakers conclude their remarks. Please note that masks will be strongly encouraged in order to protect our patient advocates.
*The press conference will also be available via livestream if you cannot attend in person.
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| This week, we debunked pharma’s lies about how drug pricing reforms will hinder innovation and patient access to medications; highlighted taxpayers’ critical role in funding the research and development of COVID-19 vaccines; and explained why we must lower drug prices to lower out-of-pocket costs. See our full campaign to set the record straight on the comprehensive reforms in Congress here. Today, we’ll lay out the strong bipartisan support for drug pricing reform and why the Senate must pass these reforms now. |
? Big Pharma’s Lie: Big Pharma’s Lie: The package of drug pricing reforms is an unpopular partisan plan pushed by Democratic congressional leaders.
✅ The Truth: Drug pricing reform has overwhelming bipartisan support across the country.
Summary:
Americans – Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike – overwhelmingly support action to lower drug prices. Nine in 10 Americans support allowing Medicare to negotiate prices, limiting annual drug price hikes to the rate of inflation, and capping out-of-pocket costs for insulin at $35 a month. Medicare negotiation is the most popular priority in the president’s economic plan. Nearly 90 percent of voters said drug pricing is an important issue heading into the November midterm elections, and 3 in 4 said a failure by Congress to lower drug prices will affect their vote. In February, over 90 groups representing patients, seniors, consumers, unions, employers, physicians, and disease advocacy groups signed a letter urging the Senate to pass the drug pricing reforms in a reconciliation package. There is a clear path forward for Congress to pass the drug pricing reforms and help patients and taxpayers now.
Patient Perspective:
“While our country wrestles with deep divisions on so many issues, the overwhelming popularity of prescription drug pricing reforms before the Senate right now is striking. Despite Big Pharma’s record spending on lobbying and dark money campaigns to block the drug pricing reforms, patients know the provisions will allow for the innovation we need at prices we can afford, increase access to drugs, continue funding for COVID-19 vaccine development, and save lives. Americans are depending on Congress to fulfill its promise and pass comprehensive drug pricing reforms now,” says 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.
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| Earlier this week, we debunked pharma’s lies about how drug pricing reforms will hinder innovation and patient access to medications. We also explained how taxpayers played a critical role in funding the research and development of COVID-19 vaccines. See our full campaign to set the record straight on the comprehensive reforms in Congress here. Today, we’ll address pharma’s false claims about out-of-pocket costs. |
? Big Pharma’s Lie: Patients only care about lowering out-of-pocket costs. We don’t need comprehensive reforms.
✅ The Truth: The Truth: We can’t lower out-of-pocket costs without lowering drug prices or we will just wind up paying higher premiums and taxes. We need comprehensive reform.
Summary:
Big Pharma has attempted to create a false dichotomy by claiming patients only want their out-of-pocket costs to go down. That’s simply impossible. In order to lower out-of-pocket costs for patients, we must lower underlying prices, or we will simply pay more in premiums and higher taxes because insurers and federal health plans will make up the difference through cost shifting. Capping out-of-pocket costs without lowering drug prices simply shifts costs – it doesn’t lower them. The Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm is a prominent example of this process: After the manufacturer, Biogen, priced the drug at $56,000 per year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced that Medicare Part B premiums would increase by nearly 15 percent the following year — one of the largest increases ever — to accommodate the astronomical cost. Passing the comprehensive drug pricing reforms that include Medicare negotiation will address the headwater of the issue — high list prices — and lead to lower prices and out-of-pocket costs for patients.
Taxpayer Perspective:
High drug prices are a major challenge for small business owners and leaders. In a recent statement, Rhett Buttle, senior advisor for Small Business for America’s Future, explains: “We also need to help small businesses with unreasonable expenses that cut into their bottom line and hinder their growth. … Small business owners identify the cost of healthcare and prescription drug prices as their top concern and strongly support solutions like allowing Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs.”
Nevada teacher and type 1 diabetes patient Jamie Tadrzynski writes in the Las Vegas Sun, “Any proposal that caps the cost of one or more drugs will not fundamentally address the root of the problem, which is rising prices. The government can take action to help seniors and others afford their medicine, but without negotiations that actually stop the drug corporations from charging whatever they want and raising prices at will, cost containment can only have limited impact for a limited number of patients while burdens continue to rise for taxpayers, businesses, and those paying premiums.”
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| Earlier this week, we debunked pharma’s lies about how drug pricing reforms will hinder innovation and patient access to medications. Our campaign debunking Big Pharma’s lies and setting the record straight on the comprehensive reforms in Congress is updated each day here. Today, we’ll explain how taxpayers played a critical role in funding the research and development of COVID-19 vaccines. |
? Big Pharma’s Lie: Drug companies saved us with their COVID-19 vaccines. Cracking down on their prices now could hinder future vaccine and drug development.
✅ The Truth: Taxpayers saved ourselves. The reforms will ensure this can continue.
Summary:
Taxpayer funding was the engine behind the COVID-19 vaccines, and the package of drug pricing reforms passed by the House will allow the United States to continue leading in drug development while allowing patients to access the medications and vaccines we need at prices we can afford. Taxpayers paved the way for the successful COVID-19 vaccines by investing billions of dollars in research prior to the pandemic and assuming the financial risk after the pandemic began by funding clinical trials, boosting manufacturing capacity, and making advance purchase agreements. Research into the mRNA technology behind the vaccines began decades ago in federally funded labs, and analysts estimate that the U.S. government spent between $18 billion and $23 billion on developing and manufacturing COVID-19 vaccine candidates after the virus emerged. Moderna even admitted that its vaccine was 100 percent funded using federal dollars — in fact, NIH scientists have filed applications for several patents related to the vaccine.
While drug companies like Pfizer and Moderna try to scare patients by threatening the future of vaccines under the drug pricing reforms, theirexecutives have reaped enormous profits on the COVID-19 vaccines. Pfizer is expected to shatter records with $32 billion in sales this year while Moderna projects $19 billion in sales this year. As COVID-19 is expected to be endemic, Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel says the company is preparing to raise prices. To ensure Americans are protected from price gouging on life-saving vaccines, we must pass reforms to limit price hikes to the rate of inflation.
Patient Perspective:
In this New York Times op-ed on the role taxpayers played in developing the COVID-19 vaccines, P4AD founder David Mitchell writes, “Americans should stop buying the pharmaceutical industry’s argument that innovation and new drug development will dry up if the government uses its purchasing power and bargains to get a better deal. The United States spends more per capita than any other wealthy nation for prescription drugs — often the same drugs available for far less overseas. … This year, we can achieve reforms that both advance innovation and ensure Americans can afford the medicines — and vaccines — we need.”
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| Yesterday, we explained why it’s just not true that drug pricing reforms under consideration by the Senate will harm development of innovative new drugs. Our campaign debunking Big Pharma’s lies and setting the record straight on the comprehensive reforms in Congress is updated each day here. Today, we’ll debunk the pharmaceutical industry’s lie that reforms will harm patient access to medications. |
? Big Pharma’s Lie: Drug pricing reforms will make it harder for patients to get their medications.
✅ The Truth: The biggest barrier to patient access right now is the high prices of drugs. The reforms will increase patient access by lowering prices.
Summary:
The biggest barrier to patient access is high prices – far too many patients across the country struggle to afford their medications. A 2021 survey found that nearly 40 percent of patients did not take their drugs as prescribed due to high costs, and 20 percent of patients took on debt to pay for their medications. It’s estimated that more than 5 million Medicare beneficiaries had trouble affording their medications in 2019, with rates highest among Black and Latino seniors. If current trends continue, 1.1 million beneficiaries could die this decade because they can’t afford the drugs they need. Lower drug prices from Medicare negotiation and limits on price increases would improve medication adherence and people’s health, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The reforms being considered by the Senate would address the high prices driving patients to go without their needed medications and preserve long-standing government policies on drug coverage that protect access. Medicare will continue to be required to cover all drugs in six protected classes and at least two medications in each class of drugs. Medicaid must still cover every drug offered by a manufacturer in the United States if the manufacturer agrees to give Medicaid a best price guarantee. Additionally, even with lower prices, drug companies will continue to file for drug approval first in the United States, given that we are by far the largest market in the world with the highest prices in the world.
Patient Perspective:
Katherine Pepper, a Washington patient who lives with an autoimmune disease, takes Humira, a medication that has a monthly price of $6,409. Katherine writes, “As a senior living on a fixed income, I’ve had to choose between filling my Humira prescription or buying groceries. That’s a decision no one should have to make.”
Therese Humphrey Ball, an Indiana patient living with multiple sclerosis, shares about a time when she couldn’t access her medication at all because of its price. “In 2017, I was forced to go off of Copaxone entirely because I simply could not pay its $6,000 monthly cost,” she writes. “Without the medication I needed, I began having difficulty with my cognitive function. I work really hard to keep my life in order and my memory intact even with MS, so this was devastating. I lost something that is so valuable to me.”
Vanessa Ladson, a Delaware patient living with lupus and fibromyalgia, writes, “I am on a fixed income, and I have to scrimp and save just to be able to eat. I can’t afford all of my prescriptions, including the blood thinner Eliquis, which is priced at $500 per month. Instead, I take a cheaper drug that gives me a higher risk of bleeding.”
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| P4ADNow Launches “Debunking Big Pharma Week” To Set The Record Straight On Comprehensive Drug Pricing Reforms Now Before The Senate |
| WASHINGTON, D.C. — As Congress is on the brink of passing comprehensive drug pricing reform for the first time in two decades, Big Pharma continues to spread lies to scare patients and lawmakers in an attempt to maintain its unilateral power to dictate prices of brand-name drugs. This week, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now will debunk five of the industry’s lies about innovation, access, COVID-19 vaccines, out-of-pocket costs, and partisan priorities, and set the record straight with the truth about what the drug pricing reforms would mean for patients. As the Senate returns from recess next week, this campaign aims to arm members of Congress, press, and the public with the tools to counter Big Pharma’s lies so we can get on with the business of passing these historic provisions that will help millions of patients. We’ll be updating each day of the campaign here. Here’s day one: |
BIG PHARMA DEBUNK DAY ONE: INNOVATION
? Big Pharma’s Lie: Drug pricing reforms will stifle innovation.
✅ The Truth: We can maintain the innovation we need at prices we can afford.
Summary:
The comprehensive drug pricing reforms before the Senate will bring an end to the pharmaceutical industry’s unilateral power to set and raise prices at will, while maintaining the valuable drug innovation we need. As Big Pharma’s profits have continued to soar, the industry is falsely claiming that these reforms would grind research and development of new drugs to a halt. In reality, the legislative package passed by the House of Representatives would only decrease the number of new drugs over the next 30 years by 10 out of 1,300 expected new drugs – that’s less than 1 percent. Further, only 10 to 15 percent of new drugs are truly innovative in the first place. Any biopharmaceutical industry revenue lost from the proposed drug price reforms would only be a drop in the bucket for an industry with profits that are almost three times the average of the S&P 500.
The truth is, the drug pricing package continues to incentivize the industry to find new, innovative drugs in the same way we do now by allowing drug companies to set launch prices and giving new drugs nine to 13 years before becoming eligible for Medicare negotiation. The provisions protect special incentives to develop rare disease treatments and continue to reward pharmaceutical innovation.
Patient Perspective:
Don Kreis’ daughter, Rose, lives with a type of cystic fibrosis for which the current breakthrough medications don’t work. Rose is still waiting for her miracle drug, but Don fears when it comes to market, Big Pharma will price it out of reach. “When a new drug comes to market, will she be able to even consider taking it? No one cares more about innovation than us — but these drugs are worthless if Rose can’t afford them,” he writes.
Kris Garcia, who lives with four bleeding disorders, asthma, and several allergies, explained in a recent op-ed in The Colorado Sun that, “We do not have to choose between innovation and lower drug prices. We can and will have both once the Senate passes these reforms through reconciliation.” Each vial of his medication, Humate-P, is priced at $10,000, and for each infusion, he needs four vials. “For me, these reforms would help bring predictability and consistency to my drug prices.”
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