Don't raise Florida prescription drug costs | Opinion
Floridians know the pain of trying to afford life-saving drugs. According to AARP, almost three out of ten Sunshine State residents forego medication because they can no longer afford it. I hear about this struggle every month from fellow residents. It’s heartbreaking to hear a mom or a father say they can’t pay for a family member’s prescription.
Capitol Hill realizes millions of Americans suffer with rising healthcare costs. But instead of proposing real solutions, Congress may make the problem even worse.
Washington D.C. wants to crack down on pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which are third-party groups that negotiate drug prices with drugmakers on behalf of healthcare customers. Studies show that PBMs can significantly reduce drug prices and offer more options to those with health coverage. But many lawmakers think the PBMs are the problem rather than the big, bad companies that set the prices.
Proposed legislation would possibly break up PBMs and put them under greater restrictions, reducing the power of these entities to negotiate with the drug giants. But there’s no justification for this act.
The lack of reason behind these measures was made apparent at a recent House hearing on the matter. Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) asked witness Rena M. Conti, a Boston University professor and health policy expert, a critical question. “Professor Conti, as an expert on drug pricing and affordability, can you tell us [if] breaking up PBMs without addressing the drug manufacturers’ role [will] guarantee that drug list prices will fall to more affordable levels?” he inquired.
Conti bluntly replied: “No, in fact we expect prices will go up.”
What’s the point in healthcare legislation that will raise prices? Costs are already high enough–struggling Floridians don’t need to pay more to get the medication we need.
Florida’s lawmakers need to figure out a better way to deliver more affordable healthcare to our state.
Our state’s two senators — Marco Rubio and Rick Scott — have previously pledged to support legislation to lower prescription drug costs. But we need more members of Congress to get serious about this issue. Pushing any healthcare measure just won’t cut it — many of the ones out for consideration today would make the problem worse.
If lawmakers want to focus on the culprit behind high drug costs, they should do more about Big Pharma. The big drugmakers would love to have more power over the market and not have to negotiate their prices down for health insurance beneficiaries. They are the ones who set the drug prices after all.
Polls show that healthcare costs sit at the top of Americans’ concerns. This is especially true in our state. No American should have to forego the healthcare they need just because they can’t afford it. Congress’s new proposals would increase the number of Floridians who skip their medication to keep a roof over their heads. That’s the wrong way to solve our healthcare woes. There’s a better way, and it starts with focusing on the root of the problem.
Beth McMillen (Brevard County) is the former state chair for the Democratic Disability Caucus and the former chair of the Brevard County Democratic Executive Committee (DEC)
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Don't raise Florida prescription drug costs | Opinion
