WASHINGTON, DC (November 13, 2019) – Men’s Health Network (MHN), a national non-profit organization whose mission is to raise awareness of men’s health issues, released the following statement regarding HR 3, the House’s drug pricing package:
While it is encouraging that legislators are working to lower health care costs, it’s imperative that the means of achieving these goals also maintains the quality of care patients need. Unfortunately, that is not the case of the proposals included in Speaker Pelosi’s recent drug pricing package.
Efforts to redesign the Part D prescription drug benefit will undermine Medicare’s competitive marketplace, which is instrumental in providing access to a wide range of medications, with minimal patient benefit. Additionally, the various proposals to implement government price controls across the larger health care system could impair future access to breakthrough treatments and stifle new drug development initiatives.
Limiting research into new cures and treatments could significantly damage gains made to address men’s health needs. In the past decade, we have seen new therapies lead to a remarkable 99 percent of individuals diagnosed with prostate cancer attain a five-year survival rate. More research is needed to increase the survival rates of cancer and other conditions and must not be jeopardized by these proposed policy changes.
Ultimately, the included changes improve the government’s bottom line but do relatively little to improve access and care quality or reduce patient spending. As Congress considers this package, we strongly urge them to reject these proposed changes and instead focus on proposals that put patient needs first.
Men’s Health Network has a blog series dedicated to exploring effective prescription medication pricing reform proposals that also benefit patients. Visit the Talking About Men’s Health blog to read the first blog post of the series, “Five Key Principles to Sound Prescription Medication Pricing Reform,” and to learn more about how proposed policies could impact men’s health.
