PHOTO CREDIT: Evan Casey
Wisconsin Rep. Gwen Moore speaks at the “Don’t Cut Pills, Cut Profits” Town Hall event at the Italian Community Center in Milwaukee.
West Allis resident Nancy Koch has an autoimmune disease. “It’s not going to get any better,” she said with a look of concern on her face. At least she qualifies for a patient assistance program that helps pay for one of the medications she needs—which totals nearly $4,000 a month. However, that could all change next year. Koch says she doesn’t have the money to pay for another drug that is similar if she doesn’t qualify for the patient assistance program in 2020.
“We [Koch and her husband] live on Social Security, so there’s no way we can afford $171 a month. If I’m lucky, I can afford $20 a month,” she said. Koch is one of the many U.S. citizens who are suffering from the rising cost of prescription pills across the nation. The data that revolves around drug companies and prescription pills is “appalling” to Koch, who is part of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) advocates group.
Nancy Koch.
According to data from the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM), the average annual cost of a brand-name drug has more than tripled in the past decade, jumping from $1,868 in 2006 to $6,798 in 2017. Retail prices for specialty prescription drugs also increased by 7% between 2016 and 2017, while the general inflation rate only rose 2.1%. Medicare beneficiaries’ average out-of-pocket cost for some brand-name drugs also rose by 40% from 2011 to 2015, according to the NCPSSM.
What is one of the main reasons for this? A 2003 law that says that the federal government cannot negotiate with drug manufacturers to lower the cost of drugs. Current laws also benefit larger drug companies when it comes to patents. This means that many makers of less expensive generic drugs must overcome many obstacles to make their product available on the market, meaning less competition. The pharmaceutical industry also received federal tax cuts five times from 2005 to 2016, according to NCPSSM.
However, there could be help coming soon in the form of a few bipartisan plans to curb the increase of drug prices. One of these plans, from Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, authorizes Medicare to negotiate prices for some of the most expensive drugs on the market. Koch was one of many who came to the recent “Don’t Cut Pills, Cut Profits” campaign event at the Italian Community Center in Milwaukee that discussed some of those plans. Event attendees included Wisconsin Rep. Gwen Moore, Wisconsin state Sen. Tim Carpenter and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes. At the event, they discussed federal and state initiatives to help ease the pain.
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The “Don’t Cut Pills, Cut Profits” national campaign, which is being organized by NCPSSM, includes town halls, voter education, petition drives and outreach to members of Congress to push them to support legislation that would reduce drug costs. Milwaukee is one of three locations across the nation where a town hall event is being held these next three months.
“I asked the question, ‘why have drug prices gone up so high?’” said Khelan Bhatia, manager of voter engagement for the AARP, during the event. Bhatia was part of a panel that answered questions from the audience. “It’s because drug companies can do it.”
Those at the event were encouraged to make their voices heard by signing a petition that tells Congress to work now to stop the increase. Representative Moore said House Democrats are now discussing the Lower Drug Costs Now Act. Mainly, the act would create new tools to force drug companies to discuss price reductions. It would also put a cap on out-of-pocket costs for Part D beneficiaries at $2,000 each year—down from $5,100 under current law.
“The annual growth of medical spending is unsustainable,” Moore said at the event. She also explained that she is taking a drug that costs $18,000 a month. “I don’t know which part of that copay anyone thinks I can afford as a member of Congress,” she said.
State lawmakers also want to get into the discussion. Lt. Gov. Barnes spoke about the creation of the Governor’s Task Force on Reducing Prescription Drug Prices, which Gov. Tony Evers created in August. The task force will look at what other states have done to reduce costs and recommend legal, regulatory or community-based approaches to address the issue in Wisconsin. Barnes is part of that task force, which will make its recommendations to the governor at the end of every year. “Picking up a medication shouldn’t break the bank,” said Barnes. “Ultimately, we’re all paying the price.”
Mayor Tom Barrett even made an appearance at the event, giving support to all those who attended, which included a large number of AARP members. “This is an issue that clearly can be won,” said Barrett. “It’s about being mobilized. I think the more we can make this an issue at the state level, the more we can make this an issue on the national level.”
But in the meantime, it’s people like Nancy Koch that will be waiting to hear about a possible solution.
