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Editor, News-Register:
For my husband and I, raising and caring for our 15-year-old daughter with cerebellar hypoplasia comes with more than its fair share of challenges. Living with this intellectual development disability means our daughter relies on us for a variety of basic needs.
I would very much like to see more medical research and development being done to discover and advance new treatments and therapies--both for my daughter's condition and many others. That is why I cannot support efforts by some lawmakers to increase the government's role in dictating prescription prices.
It may not seem obvious at first, but government prescription price setting can have negative impacts for patients and their families. Price setting can undermine access to a variety of prescription medications available today. It can also threaten drug innovation that could lead to the cures and treatments of tomorrow by restricting access to the resources scientists need to develop next-generations medications.
To make life easier for patients by reducing out-of-pocket costs, Congress should focus less on prescription price setting and more on reforming Pharmacy Benefit Managers. These groups control most of the prescription drugs on the market and use questionable business practices--from patient steering to prior authorization--to boost profits and cut costs while making it harder for patients to access the vital treatments they need.
West Virginia's congressional delegation--including Sens. Shelley Capito and Joe Manchin, and Rep. Alex Mooney--should help reform PBMs to improve prescription drug access while preserving medical innovation at the national level.
Brianne Young
Glen Dale