Dear editor,
Senator Cassidy hit the nail on the head with his recent comments about the prescription price-setting policies currently being enforced under the Inflation Reduction Act.
While I understand some may think price setting is the answer to lowering costs for patients, in reality this approach does much more harm than good. Price setting for prescription drugs can undermine access to the resources private companies need to keep investing in research and development of cutting-edge medications, treatments, and hopefully cures.
Senator Cassidy is right to sound the alarm—and we need solutions that will actually help reduce costs for patients without jeopardizing drug development that could help save lives. That’s why I hope the Senator will help steer conversations in Congress toward reforming the broken system insurers and Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) use to prioritize profits over patients.
PBMs use restrictive policies like prior authorization and pharmacy steering to cut costs and increase profits while creating unnecessary delays and putting up new barriers to care for patients. These groups even withhold critical prescription drug savings and rebates to further inflate profit margins, leaving millions of patients on the hook for high out-of-pocket costs.
Congress should focus on passing bipartisan PBM reform like the DRUG Act. If passed, this bill would help rein in the borderline-unethical practices insurers and PBMs use that threaten patient access and affordability while preserving the right atmosphere for private-sector innovation that benefits patients.
Sincerely,
Lauranel Bates