Viewpoint: We must address high cost of prescription drugs
As the 119th Congress gets to work, I’m hopeful that Montana’s Congressional Delegation will prioritize and support legislation that addresses the ever-growing cost of prescription drugs.
Montanans are aging rapidly-- those aged 65 and above representing the fastest growing segment of our population. Many live in rural areas of the state and need access to essential and affordable prescription drugs. Unfortunately, rural residents, especially elderly, often suffer from a higher incidence of chronic diseases. However, Montanans have seen the prices of many life-saving medications soar to shocking levels and the problem is getting worse.
From life-saving cancer drugs to everyday asthma inhalers, the pharmaceutical industry – also known as Big Pharma - raises prices on essential medications year after year and often without clinical justification. Some drug prices have increased by more than 5,000 percent.
Recently, Big Pharma hiked the price of nearly 250 brand prescription drugs. At a time when more than half of adults across the nation (especially in Montana) are worried about being able to afford prescription drugs, Big Pharma needs to be held accountable for boosting their profits at the expense of American and Montana consumers.
Pharmaceutical companies aren’t just hiking prices for life-saving medications, they’re also actively working to protect their interests by lobbying policymakers and preventing fair competition in the marketplace. Big Pharma spends millions on federal lobbying, arguing against consumer-friendly legislation that would lower the cost of prescription drugs for Americans.
Though Big Pharma companies sometimes report earnings of billions of dollars each year, its troubling to hear they are not reinvesting their revenue in ways that protect the health of Americans. Some companies are spending upwards of $36 billion more on advertising and marketing— we’ve all seen the ads on tv. Instead, these dollars should be spent on research and development.
Seems in the US, we are footing the bill for these tactics. The RAND Institute found that Big Pharma charges Americans up to 3 times more for brand drugs compared to the rest of the world. This is unacceptable.
Americans and Montanans from both sides of the aisle agree that pharmaceutical companies are to blame for rising drug prices. We need meaningful reforms or healthcare costs will continue to rise. Many Montanans, who have worked hard their entire life, now find themselves facing few choices when it comes to affording life saving medications.
I urge Congress to pass comprehensive reforms and get prescription drug prices under control to protect us from financial ruin.
Editor’s Note: Kim Gillan is the former Regional Director (Region 8) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and served for 16 years in the Montana Legislature.