Who’s to Blame for High Drug Prices?

What’s the story?

• To polish off an old meme: “These drug prices are too damn high!” But who’s responsible?

• In what some news outlets are predicting will be a “reckoning,” the CEOs of seven major pharmaceutical companies are scheduled to appear at a hearing Tuesday on the soaring price of drugs.
• The Senate Finance Committee hearing, titled “Drug Pricing in America: A Prescription for Change, Part II,” will be streamed live at 10:15am here.

What are both sides saying?

Big pharma

• French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi – which has faced criticism for soaring insulin prices – told the Washington Post in a statement that insurance companies are to blame for high prices.
• “It is our belief that growing rebates and declining net prices should result in lower out-of-pocket costs for patients,’’ Sanofi said.

“Unfortunately, under the current health care system, this is generally not the case and these savings are not consistently passed through to patients in the form of lower co-pays or coinsurance.’’

• Holly Campbell, spokeswoman for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, shared a similar sentiment.
• “While biopharmaceutical companies set the set list price of a medicine, insurers ultimately determine what patients pay out of pocket,’’ Campbell said. “We agree the status quo is not working for patients and our health care system needs to change, but we need to address the right problem.’’
• The Trump administration has tended to side with drug companies, and has suggested purging rebates from certain Medicare and Medicaid programs.

Consumers

• “The hearing demonstrates something of a political sea change in the willingness of members of Congress to really put pressure on big pharmaceutical manufacturers to become part of the solution and to answer for some of their anticompetitive and patent abuse tactics,” said Jon Conradi, a former Republican Hill staffer and spokesperson for the Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing, a coalition of physician organizations, hospital associations, health plans and other business groups.

“You have ranking members and chairman from both parties and both chambers rushing to hold hearings on the issue of prescription drug pricing and get on record saying that the prescription drug companies need to be part of the solution,” Conradi told Politico.

What do you think?

Are you concerned about the price of drugs? If so, is it the responsibility of the drugmakers or insurers to lower prices? What do you want your party’s reps asking at the hearing? Take action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman

(Photo Credit: iStockphoto.com / DNY59)