STATEMENT: President Biden Fulfills Promise To Lower Drug Prices For Millions Of Americans With Signing Of The Inflation Reduction Act

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 President Biden signing the Inflation Reduction Act into law:

“President Biden made history today by signing into law the Inflation Reduction Act that will lower prescription drug prices and out-of-pocket costs for millions of Americans. President Biden, along with Democrats in the Senate and House, fulfilled their promises to the American people by standing firm in the face of assaults from Big Pharma and passing unprecedented reforms. As a result, they have changed the trajectory of drug pricing in the United States. We are grateful for the President’s commitment to the issue and for delivering relief to millions of Americans. 

“Patient advocates across the country who shared their personal experiences of the burden of high drug prices made this monumental victory possible. We are humbled and energized by patient advocates’ power to move the will of Congress. Our work to ensure all patients can afford the medications they need will continue.” 

Read a letter from David Mitchell to our community of patient advocates here.

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Something remarkable happened this week: You changed the course of history.

Because of you and this community of patients, families, and allies, Congress passed and the President signed into law historic legislation that will lower prescription drug prices for millions of Americans. 

For the first time ever:

• Medicare will be required to negotiate directly with drug companies for some of the costliest drugs and use its purchasing power to get a better deal for Americans.

• We will curb price gouging by imposing a penalty on drug companies that raise their prices in Medicare by more than the rate of inflation.

• There will be an annual out-of-pocket cap in the Medicare prescription drug program of $2,000 when there is no cap now, cutting costs enormously for patients who currently can wind up paying more than $15,000 out of pocket every year.

• Medicare beneficiaries who rely on insulin will have their insulin copays capped at $35 per month.

Big Pharma — with more than 1,500 lobbyists on Capitol Hill — fought these reforms with all its might, spending at least $56 million on advertising and more than $100 million on lobbying in the past year. It lied about the impact of the legislation, tried to scare patients with dire warnings that new innovative drugs would not be available, and even directly threatened members of Congress. We overcame all of it because of you.

Our community and the American people rose up and said Enough! And finally, after years of effort, we overcame the most powerful lobby in the country. The legislation does not include everything we hoped for, but make no mistake — it changes the trajectory of drug prices and policy in the United States. It finally begins to break the power of multinational drug corporations to dictate prices of brand name drugs to the American people.

I cannot emphasize this enough: The victory would not have been achieved without tireless advocacy from people such as yourself. Your dedication to sharing your real, lived experiences and to write a letter or make a phone call made it possible to reach policymakers in Washington and counter the power of the drug companies; you are the force behind these reforms. Thank you.

We thank the members of the House and Senate and President Biden who stood with patients to achieve this hard fought victory. There is more work to do to lower drug prices for all patients, including many members of this community. Our work is not done, and we will not stop here — we will keep fighting for all patients whose prices are too high.

More importantly please remember, this victory shows we can make progress, we can achieve meaningful change to help millions of Americans. Together we will continue the work to reform our system in order to make it work better for the people it is supposed to serve — rather than the people who profit from it.

Thank you for being a part of this movement. 

Best wishes,

David Mitchell

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 House of Representatives’ passage of the Inflation Reduction Act:

“Today marks a moment many Americans have been fighting for for decades; Congress stood up to Big Pharma and passed the historic drug price provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act that will lower prescription drug prices and out-of-pocket costs for millions of Americans. With this legislation, we have changed the trajectory of drug pricing policy in the United States. We have finally begun to break the power of multinational drug corporations to dictate prices of brand-name drugs to the American people.

“Thank you to the Democrats in Congress who have been fighting for these reforms for literally decades, and to Speaker Pelosi for her steely, determined leadership on the issue and swift passage of the legislation.

“For years, hundreds of thousands of patients across America have tirelessly advocated for these changes – they are the force behind these monumental reforms. There’s still more to be done to address other features of our system to ensure all Americans can afford their medications, and we will continue to push for the additional reforms needed. But for now, this legislation will rein in prices, lower out-of-pocket costs, and improve the lives of millions.

“We look forward to President Biden putting his signature on the Inflation Reduction Act and getting to work on implementation.”

The following organizations are part of the Push For Lower Rx Prices campaign:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The following statement was issued by David Mitchell, a cancer patient and founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, following the House of Representatives’ passage of H.R. 6833, the Affordable Insulin Now Act: 

“The House of Representatives today voted to once again pass legislation to cap copays for insulin. Last fall, Democrats in the House passed a historic drug pricing reform package that included copay caps for millions of people who take insulin, Medicare negotiations to lower the price of insulin and other expensive drugs, and limits on annual drug price increases to the rate of inflation. That package of reforms would deliver relief to all Americans.

“Now it is up to Democrats in the Senate to follow the House’s lead and pass comprehensive reforms through reconciliation. There are millions of patients who rely on expensive drugs 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. In order to deliver on their promises to all patients — including those who depend on insulin — the Senate must act urgently to approve the broad provisions already passed by the House. Americans overwhelmingly support these reforms — they must be the Senate’s number one priority on drug pricing policy upon returning from the upcoming recess.”

Background:

• The comprehensive prescription drug pricing reforms passed by the House in November and under consideration by the Senate would: 
  • Empower Medicare to negotiate lower prices for the most expensive prescription drugs, including insulin.
  • Cap annual out-pocket-costs for Medicare beneficiaries at $2,000 in Part D.
  • Implement a copay cap of $35 a month on insulin products for people on commercial or government insurance plans.
  • Penalize drug companies for price increases that outpace the rate of inflation.

Big Pharma’s Lies And Scare Tactics Repeatedly Exposed

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The following statement was issued by David Mitchell, a cancer patient and founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, following the Senate Committee on Finance’s hearing “Prescription Drug Price Inflation: An Urgent Need to Lower Drug Prices in Medicare”:

“Thank you to Chairman Ron Wyden and the Senate Finance Committee for holding today’s hearing on the outrageous prices of prescription drugs in this country. Senators and witnesses alike made the compelling case for passage of the comprehensive drug price reforms now before the Senate. The hearing demonstrated the urgent and overwhelming imperative that Congress pass the reforms, including Medicare negotiation, this year. Without action, we are effectively mandating that Americans continue to pay almost four times what patients in other countries pay for the same brand-name drugs. 

“The hearing again highlighted the lengths that Big Pharma will go to spread misinformation and scare patients in order to protect the industry’s unilateral power to dictate prices in this country. Despite record spending on lobbying and dark money campaigns by drug companies who are trying 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, and save lives. Americans are depending on Congress to get it done.”

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Today’s Hearing:

• During the hearing, senators advocated strongly for passing the comprehensive reforms already passed by the House of Representatives. 
  • Chairman Ron Wyden reiterated: “There is just no substitute — none — for the number one reform, which is allowing Medicare to negotiate like any other payer. Without negotiation, the job is just not done. For example, setting out-of-pocket caps without negotiation just passes the price on to somebody else, and that’s usually taxpayers. That’s not sustainable and just puts more pressure on Medicare’s finances in the long run.” 
  • Senator Catherine Cortez Masto said, “It just astounds me that there’s so much fear-mongering going on around here. So really, when I hear ‘government price controls,’ what I’m hearing is that pharmaceutical companies are afraid for the free market to take place and negotiation to take place to lower these costs. ” 
  • Senator Tom Carper explained: “I see a clear path forward to deliver drug pricing reform for the American people in a way that is balanced and in a way that is fair, and I’m confident that these policies can pass through Congress and be signed into law even today, even today. We can cap the price Americans pay, for example, for insulin at $35 per prescription, we can establish the first-ever out-of-pocket cap for seniors in Medicare Part D, we can institute a price inflation penalty where drug companies would pay a penalty to Medicare for raising prices faster than inflation, and we can allow Medicare to negotiate the lower drug prices.” 
• Opponents of the drug pricing reforms under consideration by the Senate repeated pharma’s lies that Medicare negotiation would stifle innovation and reduce patient access to medications. Here’s why these claims are just not true.

Background:

• The prescription drug pricing reforms in the House-passed Build Back Better Act would:
  • Empower Medicare to negotiate lower prices for the most expensive prescription drugs, including insulin.
  • Cap annual out-pocket-costs for Medicare beneficiaries at $2,000 in Part D.
  • Implement a copay cap of $35 a month on insulin products for people on commercial or government insurance plans.
  • Penalize drug companies for price increases that outpace the rate of inflation.
• President Biden has repeatedly stated his commitment to deliver lower drug prices for Americans. In his State of the Union address this month, the president called on Congress to lower the prices of prescription drugs and allow Medicare to negotiate. 
• The drug pricing reforms in the Build Back Better Act have been endorsed by the entire Democratic caucus. Key members continue to emphasize that lowering drug prices will address high and rising costs and are encouraging the caucus to move forward with the comprehensive drug price provisions, including Medicare negotiation. 
• Allowing Medicare to negotiate is widely supported by Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike.
  • 8 in 10 Americans agree that Medicare should have the power to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices.
  • Polls have repeatedly shown that voters believe Medicare negotiation is the top priority in the president’s Build Back Better plan.
  • 9 in 10 voters consider drug prices an important issue leading up to the midterm elections. 3 in 4 voters say that a failure to pass drug pricing reforms will impact their vote.

“Let’s Let Medicare Negotiate The Price Of Prescription Drugs”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The following statement was issued by David Mitchell, a cancer patient and founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, following the president’s State of the Union address:

“Tonight, President Biden once again called for legislation to lower prescription drug prices, including Medicare negotiation. For two decades, Americans have been targeted by drug companies that established a system that prevents our government from negotiating on our behalf. It is imperative that the Senate pass a package of reforms that will couple copay and out-of-pocket caps with provisions that drive down prices by empowering Medicare to negotiate lower prices and limiting year-to-year price increases to truly lower costs — not just shift them around. Otherwise, Americans will wind up paying more through higher premiums and taxes.

“With inflation at record levels and Americans facing rising costs, Big Pharma’s price gouging forces Americans to pay almost four times what people in other nations pay for the same brand-name drugs. The drug price reforms from the House-passed Build Back Better package allow Medicare to negotiate lower prices, curb Big Pharma’s price gouging, cap out-of-pocket costs, and deliver long overdue relief to millions of Americans. The reforms have the support of all 50 Democratic senators, offering a clear path to passage through reconciliation. The provisions are the most popular element of the original package, and more than 90 percent of voters list drug pricing reform as a top issue for the midterms. 

“It is time for the Senate to advance a reconciliation package with these drug price reforms. Americans need help now.”

Background:

• The prescription drug pricing reforms in the House-passed Build Back Better Act would:
  • Empower Medicare to negotiate lower prices for the most expensive prescription drugs, including insulin.
  • Cap annual out-pocket-costs for Medicare beneficiaries at $2,000 in Part D.
  • Implement a copay cap of $35 a month on insulin products for people on commercial or government insurance plans.
  • Penalize drug companies for price increases that outpace the rate of inflation.
• President Biden has repeatedly stated his commitment to deliver lower drug prices for Americans. In December, the president met with two patient advocates to hear their stories ahead of his speech on drug pricing reforms in his Build Back Better plan.
• The drug pricing reforms in the Build Back Better Act have been endorsed by the entire Democratic caucus. Key members continue to emphasize that lowering drug prices will address high and rising costs and are encouraging the caucus to move forward with the comprehensive drug price provisions, including Medicare negotiation. 
• Allowing Medicare to negotiate is widely supported by Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike.
  • 8 in 10 Americans agree that Medicare should have the power to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices.
  • Polls have repeatedly shown that voters believe Medicare negotiation is the top priority in the president’s Build Back Better plan.
  • According to a new Morning Consult poll, 9 in 10 voters consider drug prices an important issue leading up to the midterm elections. 3 in 4 voters say that a failure to pass drug pricing reforms will impact their vote.

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• S 2651, An Act relative to pharmaceutical access, costs, and transparency, would protect Bay Staters from high drug prices by:
  • Authorizing the state’s Health Policy Commission to conduct affordability reviews and work with pharmaceutical manufacturers to create a process to increase patient access to necessary medications if prices are deemed excessive. 
  • Increasing oversight over pharmacy benefit managers through licensure and regulation.
  • Providing cost assistance programs to improve affordability for medications used to treat chronic conditions that disproportionately impact people of color or are risk factors for increased COVID-19 complications.
  • Increasing drug price transparency.
• In 2021, patient Karolina Chorvath testified in support of a previous version of the legislation.
• S 2651 builds on P4ADNow’s previous work in Massachusetts to pass legislation permitting the Medicaid program to negotiate supplemental rebates to lower drug spending for patients on Medicaid.