https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_PuiHlxWgTbiASB-Cc9z2MQ#/registration
WHEN: Wednesday, April 17, 2-3pm ET
WHO: Welcome & Panel Discussion
Moderator: Ken Thorpe
Panelists:
- Ipsita Smolinski, Capital Street
- Gary Puckrein, National Minority Quality Forum
- Gordon Lavigne, Schizophrenia & Psychosis Action Alliance
Provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) relating to the Medicare drug pricing program create serious disincentives to drug research and development in critical areas of unmet medical need that are important to consumers. Especially shortsighted is establishing a timeline for drugs to become eligible for Medicare drug pricing with a shorter post-FDA approval timeline for the pills, tablets, patches, and other small molecule medicines that people living with chronic conditions rely upon every day. These medicines are easy to take at home, are accessible in community pharmacies, and do not require trips to a doctor’s office or infusion center to receive them. That convenience and accessibility are critically important to everyone, but particularly people without ready access to transportation or proximity to a medical facility providing administration. Given the anticipated repercussions, many are calling on Congress to amend the law and establish the same 13-year timeline for both small molecule medicines and biologics.
The transition to biologics presents challenges for patients managing multiple chronic conditions as well as those from low-income, rural, and minority communities, who may face barriers in accessing infusion sites and paying for administration costs. Moreover, the shift could burden taxpayers with increased healthcare expenses for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.
The Ensuring Pathways for Innovative Cures (EPIC) Act is a bipartisan solution to address these unintended consequences that establishes the same 13-year timeline for Medicare drug pricing.
Please join us for a virtual roundtable discussion to hear from concerned advocates and other experts about issues with IRA’s provisions and the need for reforms that address unintended consequences of the law as written that undermine R&D and treatment options, increase healthcare costs and burden on patients and providers, and limit advancement of innovation and available treatment options for millions living with chronic and rare diseases.
PFCD CONTACT:
Jennifer Burke
Jennifer.burke@fightchronicdisease.org