Cicilline stops in with Valley seniors
Offers up soup and sandwiches, as well as prescription drug info
PAWTUCKET — U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline stopped by the Leon A. Mathieu Senior Center at lunchtime on Wednesday afternoon to serve up some hot soup and some strong opinions about how pharmaceutical companies are treating the everyday consumer.
The centerpiece of Cicilline’s conversation at the Senior Center was the Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples (or CREATES) Act, a piece of bipartisan legislation that seeks to prohibit pharmaceutical and biologic companies from engaging in anti-competitive conduct that blocks lower-cost generic drugs from entering the market.
“I think that will make a real difference in the lives of the people in the room,” Cicilline told the seniors on Wednesday, saying that there is a “crisis in the country of prescription drug costs. They are growing at a faster rate than any other health service in the country. The rate of increase just cannot continue.”
Cicilline cited a recent AARP report, which found that the most popular brand name drugs increased in price by 200 percent between 2008 and 2012. He also referenced a nationwide survey from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, which found that 24 percent of Americans have been unable to fill prescriptions because of cost.
When the Congressman asked the gathered seniors how many of them had similar experiences, about a dozen of the 50 in attendance raised their hands.
The CREATES Act, which was introduced on Feb. 5 by Cicilline and Wisconsin Republican Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, will “significantly lower the cost of prescription drugs by promoting competition and ensuring generic drugs get there,” Cicilline said.
Big companies, he said, don’t want generic drugs to hit the market because it drives down costs and profits of some of the most profitable pharmaceutical companies in the country. But the legislation, Cicilline said, will make it easier for generic competitors to reach the market, thus resulting in savings for the average American.
The Federal Trade Commission has said that generic drugs coming to market more quickly can reduce branded drug prices by up to 85 percent and the presence of even just one generic alternative could decrease prices by 20 to 30 percent. The Congressional Budget Office also estimated that the legislation would result in a $3.9 billion net decrease in the federal deficit.
In addition to introducing generic drugs to the market, thus lowering drug prices, the CREATES Act would prevent delay tactics by brand-drug companies that blocks the entry of affordable generic drugs to the market by taking advantage of part of the Food and Drug Administration’s safety and approval process, and provide the FDA with more discretion to allow for court action to deter abusive, anti-competitive practices by some brand-drug companies.
“It will facilitate getting generic drugs to the market more quickly. The high cost of prescription drugs is a huge challenge to Rhode Islanders, not just to seniors but to working families...” Cicilline said. “This is one of the principle drivers of increases in health care, it’s one of the fastest-growing services in the health care system. It’s a big challenge for Rhode Islanders and this legislation will significantly reduce the cost of prescription drugs.”
“It’s an issue I hear about from every senior visit I make and I hear about it from working people who have someone in their family who is required to get prescription drugs to keep healthy or deal with a chronic disease...” the Congressman said. “It cannot be the case that in the richest country, the most powerful country on the planet, that we can’t have a system where people can afford access to drugs to keep them healthy and well.”
When asked what his confidence level was that the bill would pass – consid-b ering the legislation is bipartisan and the Democrats control the House – Cicilline said emphatically: “We are going to pass this bill.”
“Now that Democrats have control of the House, we’re going to move this bill forward. The President has spoken about his commitment to do this and hopefully he’ll join us in this effort,” Cicilline said.