The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
REDUCING COSTS
Gillibrand introduces bills aimed at lowering prices of prescriptions
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, paid Utica a visit on Thursday to announce a package of three bills to help reduce the cost of prescription drugs and expand access of medicine to all.
Announced at the Resource Center for Independent Living (RCIL) in Utica, the package of bills includes:
• The Prescription Drug Price Relief Act to level the market for Americans purchasing prescription drugs by pegging the price in the United States to the median price in Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Japan.
• The Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Act to direct the secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs under Medicare Part D.
• and The Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act to allow patients, pharmacists, and wholesalers to import safe, affordable medicine from Canada and other major countries.
“Americans pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs right now, by far,” Gillibrand stated. Thirty percent of adults say that aren’t taking their medicine as prescribed in the last 12 months because of the costs, she said.
On top of crippling drug prices that have pressed on for decades, the pandemic has added financial stress for many, with a significant portion of Americans losing their jobs and, coincidingly, their health insurance, which is an access point to medicine for many. This compounding
“Americans pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs right now, by far.” — U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand
issue needs to be addressed now, officials say, and Gillibrand said that with the willingness of the Biden administration and the pressure from the pandemic, she is hopeful the timing is right for real reform.
Pharmaceutical companies’ profits are huge, their cost of production has largely stayed the same, and yet many of them are raising drug prices, Gillibrand says.
In 2020, in the midst of an economic and health crisis, drugmakers raised their prices of more than 860 prescription drugs by 5%, on average, the senator reported. In 2018, the average annual cost of therapy for widely-used specialty drugs was about $79,000, she added. Gillibrand reports that this is more than twice the median income for people on Medicare and more than three and a half times the average Social Security retirement benefit.
“Human healthcare should be a right, not a privilege, but right now, lifesaving medicine is a privilege for those who can afford it. That has got to change,” she exclaimed.
Gillibrand noted a few specific drugs residents are struggling to afford, such as insulin, glaucoma eye drops, and cancer-remission-therapy drugs.
A member of the Senate Aging Committee, Gillibrand noted that nine out of ten older adults take some form of medication, yet even with the help of Medicare, closing the gap in cost is overwhelming financially. People with disabilities are also being hit hard by the way things stand, she said.
“If Medicare could negotiate for lower prices, it would save the government and seniors money,” she stated.
According to Gillibrand’s office, under current law, the secretary of HHS is prohibited from negotiating lower drug prices on behalf of Medicare Part D beneficiaries.
In contrast, other government programs, like Medicaid and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), are allowed to negotiate. Gillibrand says according to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office, Medicare paid twice as much for the same prescription drugs as VA in 2017.
Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon (Dutica/rome) stated, “I hear way too often from so many individuals that are asking, ‘How do I choose to buy a prescription or food?’ There should not be a decision; if you need medication, you should be able to achieve it.”
The assemblywoman added in a statement, “This legislation represents a huge step forward in the fight to ensure everyone can access lifesaving medication. I want to applaud Senator Gillibrand for her tireless advocacy on this critical affordability issue, and I’ll do everything I can in the Legislature to support and complement these measures.”
Zvia Mccormick, CEO of RCIL, stated, “Addressing health care costs, particularly prescription drug costs, is crucial to the advancement of access to health-related services for individuals with disabilities and of those who are living in poverty. This group of bills has our full support, and RCIL thanks Senator Gillibrand for being a champion of this critical legislation.”
Utica Mayor Robert Palmieri stated in support of the bills, “We have gone through the pandemic, we understand the crisis that we’ve gone through, and we also understand that... at no time, should anyone have the inability to put food on the table and take care of their health. Why [these reforms haven’t] been done sooner than this, I don’t know.”
He continued, “Our senator is a senator for all. I am very appreciative at this point that this is going to be moving forward.. .if you cannot feel healthy, if you cannot provide what you need because of your health, because you can’t afford it, systemically, we’re going down the wrong path.”
In 2020, five of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. made $44.9 billion in profits, Gillibrand reported in a press release. The senator admitted that much of drug companies’ profits are used to fund research and development, but there’s a line and it has been crossed. She added, “We’ve given the drug manufacturers many tax benefits to allow them to be profitable and continue to create and produce lifesaving drugs. But there’s abuse as well.”
Greedy is one word that comes to the senator’s mind.
“There are reforms that are necessary, and unfortunately, I think the drug companies only advocate for their own bottom line, not for the well-being of the country,” she said.