Families USA Issues Statement on Drug Pricing Proposal

WASHINGTON, Oct. 25 -- Families USA issued the following statement by Executive Director Frederick Isasi:

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Today, President Trump outlined a future proposal to test new prescription drug pricing models in Medicare Part B.

"Today's announcement--less than two weeks from the elections--could just be an attempt to win over voters and may never come to fruition. I hope this is a serious policy that will be formally proposed and finalized by the Trump administration. If so, it is an important step forward for our nation's seniors and taxpayers.

"The data is clear. The way we currently pay providers and pharmaceutical companies for drugs administered in doctors' offices and hospitals creates perverse financial incentives for these providers to select extraordinarily expensive drugs that may not be the best for their patients. Even more important, the current payment policies also result in patients sometimes getting hurt or dying. Medicare Part B is the perfect example of misaligned incentives, and this proposed rule, if implemented, could pilot significant new ways to pay for drugs that align incentives so that patients get the highest value care, they have the best outcomes possible, and costs come down.

"We hope this move to leverage the power of the federal government to reduce prescription drug prices is more than just election year posturing, and that it reflects a broader shift to using federal negotiating power to get unsustainable prescription drug prices under control for everyone.

"There is no confusion about this. It is the pharmaceutical industry and their astronomical profits, not other countries, which are responsible for high drug prices in the United States.

"While the administration is outlining a significant step in the right direction, it is outrageous that President Trump and Republican leadership in Congress simultaneously have spent almost two years attempting to take health care coverage and financial protections away from 20 million people. Let's be clear, the number one weapon in fighting against drug costs that are crushing our nation's families is to ensure they have high quality, affordable health insurance coverage."