Letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar: CAHC responds to Trump administration’s “American Patients First”

The Honorable Alex Azar
Secretary
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

RE: 0991-ZA49

Dear Secretary Azar:

The Council for Affordable Health Coverage (CAHC) is a broad-based alliance with a singular focus: bringing down the cost of health care for all Americans. Our membership reflects a broad range of interests—organizations representing insurers, PBMs, drug manufacturers, small and large employers, patient groups, consumers, and physician organizations. We appreciate the opportunity to comment on the Request for Information included in the American Patients First blueprint.

Already, the Trump Administration has taken significant steps to lower drug costs, including clearing the backlog of drug applications at the FDA, blocking pharmacy gag clauses, increasing competition in the brand and generic markets, and other programs that will save billions for taxpayers and consumers.

Unfortunately, the sad truth is that we still have laws on the books that were enacted more than three decades ago, which are blocking lower prices for prescription drugs and team-based, coordinated care. These laws should be reformed or repealed to facilitate flexible benefit designs and value-based payment arrangements in Medicare and other federal and state health programs. Such market-based, incentive-driven changes will do more to lower costs than any government program.