For Immediate Release:
Contact: Greg Johnson,
301-613-5723
[email protected]
Congress Should Enact Bi-Partisan Solutions Lowering Patients Out of Pocket Costs, Not Government Price Controls Senate Finance Committee hearing looks to retread bad, tired policy that does little to help patients with what they care about most.
Washington, D.C. (March 16, 2022): Today CAHC issued the following statement on the U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing today— “Prescription Drug Price Inflation: An Urgent Need to Lower Drug Prices in Medicare.”
“The Council for Affordable Health Coverage (CAHC) urges Congress to consider bipartisan prescription drug policies that reduce barriers for the 92% of Americans who are insured but still have trouble getting treatments they need. The drug pricing debate must evolve from a generation ago, when few had prescription drug coverage and most paid the full price at the pharmacy counter. Now the challenge is to help those who have coverage but still can’t afford the drugs they need.
The key is to reduce overall medical costs so payors can afford coverage with lower out of pocket costs. Price controls do nothing to address these problems and are unlikely to improve access for low and middle income Americans in high-deductible plans. We need lower overall health costs, lower out-of-pocket costs and increased competition in the marketplace.
We urge Congress to consider the following policies:
- Provisions that redesign the Part D benefit with an Out of Pocket Cap for patients
- Inclusion of Value-Based Payment Arrangements for prescription drugs Reforms to bring more drugs to market to increase price competition
- Tax credits and reinsurance that supports small businesses and job-based coverage
We urge Congress to reject the following policies:
- Replacing private plan negotiators with government price controls for drugs
- Changes to Part B drug pricing not recommended by MedPAC
- Elimination of the Employer Firewall that could cause millions to lose their employer coverage
Congress should seek policies that reduce overall medical costs for payers and out-of-pocket costs for those with health insurance. It should reject policies that stifle innovation or encourage workers to drop job-based coverage and enroll in government programs.”