Target: Richard Neal, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee
Goal: End pharmaceutical price gouging that hurts patients.
The cost of prescription drugs is too high, and pharmaceutical manufacturers help drive the crisis. This stance, as outlined in calls-to-action like this ForceChange petition and this petition, appears to be one issue on which most Americans can agree. Therefore, it is promising that members of Congress for once may be listening and putting their political differences aside to achieve real, meaningful change.
A significant piece of bipartisan legislation overcame a major hurdle when it gained unanimous support from the House of Representatives’ key budgetary committee. The bill would go a long way in holding drug companies accountable for their often-outrageous price hikes. Both Democrat and Republican leaders of the committee said of the Prescription Drug STAR Act: “this bipartisan effort brings sunlight across the health care supply chain, from pharmaceutical manufacturers to pharmacy benefit managers, to help reduce costs for families.” Several healthcare organizations have also thrown their support behind this bill; the legislation would force drug manufacturers to justify significant price increases and be much more transparent with records concerning the quantity and pricing of both new and existing pharmaceuticals. In addition, the Secretary of Health and Human Services would be required to evaluate and disclose price bargaining practices for the Medicare program.
In the past decade or so, prices for life-saving drugs used by millions of Americans have soared as much as 500 percent. Allergy-fighting pens alone have skyrocketed from under 100 dollars to over 700 dollars for a pair of pens. Insulin essential for diabetics has also doubled, and these troubling examples merely represent a portion of the healthcare sector. Despite such price gouging abuses, to date no law exists in the United States to regulate drug pricing.
The STAR Act symbolizes a monumental, significant step forward. Sign this petition to support a rare unified effort that could bring needed relief to all Americans.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Representative Neal,
Thank you for supporting and advancing the Prescription Drug STAR Act. This legislation represents what can be achieved when conflicts make way for partnerships that truly make an impact. Healthcare concerns unite nearly all Americans, and the larger conversations and debates often drown out the important points of agreement that present a common path forward. Price gouging of consumers is one of these critical points.
The STAR Act will hopefully continue along its bipartisan path and open the healthcare sector to more needed reforms. Accountability and transparency are essential and significant first steps to ensuring that no American has to make the horrendous choice between crushing healthcare debt and death. Please continue working together for the betterment of every American.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Greg Friese
We definitely need to cap prescription drug costs. In the USA, one vial of insulin costs $300+. In Germany, the same vial of insulin costs $50(equivalent). Three of my husband’s diabetic medications cost $400-600+ each. Our insurance does not cover them.