Proposed "Most Favored Nation" Medicare model will hinder biomedical research and harm Medicare beneficiaries living with chronic diseases
WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 20, 2020) The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease has issued the following statement in response to the Trump Administration’s "Most Favored Nation” (MFN) Interim Final Rule experiment with Medicare Part B:
"The Administration’s MFN Interim Final Rule mistakenly assumes we can enjoy American innovation while adopting foreign government access restrictions and price controls. The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease strongly opposes this proposed action, which will discourage life-saving research and limit treatment access for people living with chronic conditions.
"The Most Favored Nation action effectively imports the same foreign government intervention in health care that President Trump has repeatedly condemned. Such policies already stymie innovation and restrict patients' access to medicines abroad. They'll have the same impact here in the United States.
"Pharmaceutical price controls have an outsized impact on the most vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries, including those living with cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and other serious chronic conditions. These patients deserve better.
“Foreign price controls rely on discriminatory means to determine “value” in ways that restrict access to treatments based on people’s age, health status, and presence of disabilities. The National Council on Disability has documented this discriminatory impact[1] and the harm to U.S. patients from MFN and similar proposals.[2] We oppose discrimination in health care in all forms.
"Today, six in 10 adults in the United States live with at least one chronic health condition.[3] And each year, chronic illness claims more American lives than any other cause.[4] Medical advancements could save 16 million American lives over the next 15 years and help millions more improve their quality of life and reduce health care costs, but only if we foster access and innovation.[5]
"The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease urges the Administration to prioritize Americans' health and reconsider this disastrous policy."
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The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD) is an international coalition of patient, provider, community, business and labor groups, and health policy experts, committed to raising awareness of the number one cause of death, disability and rising health care costs: chronic disease.
[1] https://ncd.gov/sites/default/files/NCD_Quality_Adjusted_Life_Report_508...
[2] https://ncd.gov/ncd-statement-international-pricing-index
[3] https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/infographic/chronic-disease...
[4] https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/infographic/chronic-disease...
[5] https://www.fightchronicdisease.org/sites/default/files/pfcd_blocks/PFCD...