The EACH/PIC Coalition submitted a group letter signed by 23 organizations to Minority Staff for the Senate Finance Committee in response to the request for information on Prescription Drug Affordability.
The letter stated:
We share the committee’s goal of reducing the financial burden of prescription medications and believe successful reforms should ultimately be measured by whether they improve patients’ ability to obtain and remain on the therapies prescribed by their clinicians.
In response to the committee’s questions regarding the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, EACH/PIC encourages Congress to continue evaluating the program’s real-world effects before considering additional expansion.
Accordingly, as implementation of the negotiation program continues, Congress should carefully monitor its effects on patient affordability, formulary design, utilization management, and continuity of care before expanding the program. Further, we encourage Congress to strengthen safeguards that prevent negotiated prices from resulting in new utilization management requirements, restrictive formulary practices, or policies that encourage non-medical switching for negotiated therapies.
With respect to international reference pricing and Most Favored Nation (MFN) proposals, EACH/PIC respectfully urges the Committee to reject policies that reduce government spending without meaningfully improving patient affordability.
EACH/PIC believes reforms addressing pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) practices represent one of the greatest opportunities to improve prescription drug affordability for patients. Congress should continue pursuing reforms that prohibit spread pricing, replace percentage-based PBM compensation with transparent flat-fee service arrangements, require greater transparency regarding rebate agreements, formulary decision-making, and PBM contracting practices, and ensure negotiated rebates and discounts are reflected in lower patient costs whenever possible. These reforms would better align incentives throughout the prescription drug supply chain while improving accountability for how prescription drug dollars are ultimately used.