New RX Drug Affordability Board in PA

Last summer, my organization, the Gettysburg Democracy for America, hosted a table at the Gettysburg Heritage Festival. During the day, I had the pleasure of hearing from dozens of festival goers as they stopped by our tent to talk about current issues and events. The people I spoke with came from all across the political spectrum and the conversations were polite and interesting. The one issue that we all agreed on was the importance of driving down the high cost of prescription drugs. That’s not too surprising. Annual spending on prescription drugs now exceeds $450 billion nationwide and is rapidly becoming one of the biggest cost drivers in our healthcare system.

According to the Healthcare Value Hub at Altarum (source: http://bit.ly/2TavYLI), in 2018, 1 in 5 Pennsylvanians did not fill a prescription due to cost. 1 in 6 Pennsylvanians skipped doses or cut pills in half to save money. And, 2 in 3 Pennsylvanians are worried that the prescriptions they need will become unaffordable in the future. The same polling shows that 9 in 10 Pennsylvanians across party lines support a range of policy solutions that would lower prescription drug prices.

With Washington in gridlock and the Senate unlikely to take up a recent, House-passed bill that would take aim at high drug prices (H.R. 3, the Lower Drug Prices Now Act), it’s left to lawmakers in Harrisburg to put forward solutions.

Fortunately, a groundbreaking solution to the prescription drug pricing crisis has emerged. In January, State Rep. Dan Frankel (D., Allegheny) introduced legislation that would directly tackle the high prices people are paying at the pharmacy.

The Prescription Drug Affordability Act — HB 2212 — would create a mechanism to reduce what Pennsylvanians pay for their medications by creating a new entity to directly address high drug prices. It would give both lawmakers, and the public, greater understanding of how drugs are priced and investigate how specific drug prices have an impact in Pennsylvanians.

This new entity — the Prescription Drug Affordability Board — would be an independent authority composed of experts in health economics or clinical medicine appointed through a bipartisan process with strong safeguards against conflicts of interest.

The Prescription Drug Affordability Board would have the power to thoroughly investigate any drug that has a cost exceeding $30,000 annually for brand name drugs or $100 per month for generic drugs. It would also cover any drug with a price that has increased more than $3,000 annually, or which poses significant cost burdens to Pennsylvanians.

The board could then investigate how the drug is priced, assess its impact on Pennsylvanians, and ultimately set limits that directly reduce the cost that patients pay at the pharmacy.

Lawmakers in Harrisburg are moving forward. On February 25, the House Health Committee held a hearing about prescription drugs and the idea of a Prescription Drug Affordability Board was mentioned. The hearing’s topic was so popular that the hearing room could not hold the crowd that attended. I was one of the attendees who were moved to an overflow location to watch the hearing on TV. It’s clear that we need more hearings in bigger rooms and designed to lift up the voices of people who are paying too much for the prescription medications they need to stay healthy or even to survive.

But hearings aren’t enough. Following the hearing, Anna Corbin, mother of two children from Hanover, who struggles to afford needed medications said, “I have multiple health issues related to a genetic condition called Noonan Syndrome, including iron deficiency anemia. My health is declining because I am unable to afford the high cost of an expensive iron replacement medication. As caregiver to two sons with disabilities, I am extremely worried that my inability to afford treatment will affect my sons’ livelihoods. I’m glad to see lawmakers looking into this issue, but my family can’t wait much longer for real action.”

Pennsylvania’s families have suffered with the high cost of prescription drugs for too long. Solutions are on the table. The Prescription Drug Affordability Board is a solution that is already being put in place in Maryland and Maine and those citizens are on their way to lower drug prices now. Pennsylvania should do the same.

Sandy Busche is a member of Gettysburg Democracy for America.