Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives: Self-Rationing Of Prescriptions Has Disastrous Results
Colorado Sun: Rising Drug Prices Hurt Rural, Minority Coloradans Most Of All
Colorado’s two U.S. senators, John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet, are in a unique position to hold Big Pharma accountable, and lead the way to reduce prescription drug prices. As a physician who has worked at Clinica Tepeyac, a well-regarded private healthcare facility that provides free or low-cost healthcare to the Latino community in Denver, as well as a number of rural hospitals in Colorado, I see firsthand what the predatory practices of Big Pharma have done in the real world. (Dr. Joseph Ramharack, 10/9)
Statesman Journal: Oregonians Deserve Help From Congress To Preserve Access To Pharmaceuticals
Last week, we learned that Merck’s five-day course of molnupiravir for COVID-19 cut the risk of hospitalization of the clinical trial participants with moderate or mild symptoms in half. The drug costs $17.74 to produce, but Merck is charging the U.S. government, who paid for the drug’s development, $712 for the same amount of medicine, or more than 40 times the price. As we all know, many of us are unable to afford the prescription drugs we need to stay healthy. (Deb Patterson, 10/8)
The Post and Courier: Here's How Policymakers Can Make Prescription Drugs More Affordable
When Bill Clinton ran for president in 1992, he made reining in prescription drug prices a core promise of his candidacy. Since then, drug pricing has been at the top of the to-do list for every U.S. president. Nearly 30 years later, Washington still hasn’t answered the question of how to keep prescription drug prices low for people who need them. This is due in part to a fundamental flaw in the marketplace, known as “pay-for-delay.” Pay-for-delay agreements keep prices high by keeping generic drugmakers out of the marketplace. It’s time for Congress and regulators to lower prices, welcome more competition and remove the barriers that protect big drugmakers at the expense of patients. (Lou Kennedy, 10/8)
AZ Mirror: The High Cost Of Prescription Drugs Almost Bankrupted My Family. Will Sinema Help Us?
I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) in 2007. At just 42, the rapid onset of my symptoms left me bedridden. Everyday felt like a physical battle and the pain and exhaustion I felt was immeasurable. It took six months of trial and error to find the medication that works for my type of RA. But that one drug costs up to $1,000 a month. This drug helps ease my symptoms and it’s my only hope for relief: I have no choice but to pay the price the pharmaceutical company sets even if it has nearly bankrupted me. (Laurie Wagner, 10/7)
Orlando Sentinel: Rep. Murphy, Please Vote To Lower Prescription Costs
In September, Rep. Stephanie Murphy voted against allowing Medicare to negotiate the prices of prescription medications in the Ways and Means Committee, but she still has a chance to do the right thing when the bill comes to the House floor. Giving Medicare the power to negotiate for lower drug prices will end the broken system that allows Big Pharma to set sky-high prices while people from all walks of life are struggling to afford their medications. (Evelyn Rivera, 10/7)
