Cheaper Prescription Drugs If Proposed Bill Succeeds
It’s no secret that prescription medications in the United States are more expensive than in most countries worldwide. These costs impact many Americans who must decide whether to pay for the medicines they need or put food on the table.
At the same time, pharmaceutical companies continue to see record profits because no regulations prevent them from hiking prices. According to a report by Patients for Affordable Drugs, these companies consistently increase prices beyond what inflation rates warrant.
While President Biden created the Inflation Reduction Act to address these issues, Congress is now looking for ways to further lower costs. Proposed legislation aims to close loopholes, increase competition, and hold pharmaceutical companies accountable. In this blog, we will discuss how the proposed bills will impact patients.
The Scope of the Problem
A study by Rand Corp. revealed that the prices of all drugs in the United States were 2.78 times higher than the rates that 33 other countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development pay. For brand-name drugs, people in the U.S. pay 4.22 times more.
One of the reasons for this is that the U.S. has more limited negotiations with pharmaceutical companies than other countries do when it comes to prices. Many countries have price controls, too.
Another serious issue is how pharmaceutical companies have used the courts in the U.S. to buy patents that prevent generic competitors from putting their products on the market. These companies also argue that higher prices allow them to invest in research and develop new medications.
That’s not exactly what reports show, however. A 2023 study found that the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies spend more on general and administrative activities and marketing than they do on research.
What the Proposed Bills Would Do
One major bill under consideration is the Global Fairness in Drug Pricing Act. The point of this bill is to codify international price benchmarking into U.S. law and reduce the stress of high prescription costs for Americans. This essentially means that pharmaceutical companies will need to align their prices with those of other countries. This bill will also allow the FDA to import lower-cost prescription drugs from approved countries and allow direct-to-consumer drug sales at fair prices.
Another bill in consideration is Bill S.142, which will make it unlawful for pharmaceutical companies to pay generic drug manufacturers to delay launching their cheaper alternative to brand name medications, called ‘pay-for-delay.’
Finally, Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced legislation to target companies that are charging more than the median international price to help break up the pharma monopolies and hopefully bring back a more competitive market.
How Will These Actions Affect Specific Medications?
These bills, if passed, will impact Americans through increased generic competition, patent reform, and eliminating anti-competitive practices. Common medications that may benefit from this are drugs like Eliquis, which helps prevent strokes, and Jardiance, which is used to treat diabetes, both conditions highly prevalent in the U.S. In the future, there are plans to negotiate for drugs like Ozempic, which currently costs $1,000 a month before insurance. Insulin products have also been at the center of debates on medication costs for years now, and the proposed legislation could force prices downward.
If you want to learn more about how price hikes and shortages will affect you, see our blog on why are so many prescription medications out of stock.
Other Options to Help Patients
While Congress begins work on its new legislation, President Trump aims to revive his executive action using the Most Favored Nation (MFN) policy. This will direct the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to set price targets based on what other countries pay for medications. Drugmakers will be expected to lower their U.S. prices to match.
Unfortunately, this executive action was proposed previously in 2020 and was swiftly shut down by legal challenges from the pharmaceutical industry, which argued that the federal government lacked the authority to impose such rules. While it is still unknown whether the MFN approach will succeed this time, it shows both legislative efforts and executive actions are being used to tackle Americans’ pricing issues.
Prescription assistance programs are another potential solution. These services help uninsured or underinsured people receive the medications they need. They do this by finding alternate ways to cover the costs of medications.
Prescription assistance programs can help patients find all the discounts and assistance they may be eligible for based on many factors, like age and severity of illness. Individuals may not be aware of the various services available that can aid them in affording their medications, so turning to these services can put people on the right track.
Get Affordable Access to Prescription Medications
Simplefill is a full-service prescription assistance company that researches, qualifies, and maintains patients’ enrollment in all sources of assistance available to them.
Apply today by calling 877-386-0206. A caring Simplefill representative will contact you within 24 hours to discuss your application and, if qualified, enroll you in the program.
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