Lowering Drug Costs for Families Act misses the mark on making savings a reality for patients
July 26, 2023 (WASHINGTON, D.C.) The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD) released the following statement today in response to the “Lowering Drug Costs for American Families Act”:
“The recently introduced “Lowering Drug Costs for American Families Act” represents a fundamental misunderstanding of two critical matters: the significant unmet medical needs families in America cope with daily while waiting for better treatment options and how new medicines are discovered, developed, and delivered to the millions of patients who need them. The bill, if enacted, would only compound the real threats to drug development for rare diseases, cancers, and many other chronic conditions already created by the Inflation Reduction Act.
“Millions of Americans living with chronic conditions like diabetes, cancer, and high blood pressure rely on access to lifesaving prescription drugs. Today, we are fortunate to live in a nation where new scientific developments in chronic disease therapies make it easier for patients to maintain their health. It is important for patients to have access to medications that are both innovative and affordable, but doubling down on bad policy already in need of reform will hurt – not help – families in America, especially those living with at least one, and often multiple, chronic conditions. As Congress considers additional prescription drug reforms, Members need to strike a careful balance between innovation and affordability.
“PFCD and our partners are working hard to support policies that lower out-of-pocket prescription costs for consumers, create more transparency in health care, reform the broken system that rewards middlemen at the expense of patients, and untangle the web of costly administrative hurdles that stand between patients and the treatment their doctor prescribes. Unfortunately, this latest policy proposal falls far short of those goals.”
PFCD will be hosting a briefing next Tuesday, August 1 in Washington, D.C. on these issues. To learn more and register to attend please visit: https://bit.ly/morethanalist.
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