IOWA VIEW

Grassley leads effort to stem rising drug costs

Phil Noel

In the last several weeks, in an unusual act of bipartisanship in our nation’s capital, a group of U.S. senators came together and put patients before politics by introducing a new bill aimed at addressing the soaring price of prescription drugs. This caught our eye because as a hospital system here in Iowa, we have seen firsthand how expensive prescription drugs put an untenable financial strain on the patients and families who we treat every day. What’s more: This bipartisan legislation was led by Iowa’s own Sen. Chuck Grassley.

Across the country, prices for medications continue to rise year after year with no explanation, and those price hikes increase the cost of healthcare for everyone. According to the nonpartisan Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), prescription drugs make up nearly 20 percent of health care costs. Common prescription drugs to treat arthritis or high cholesterol have doubled in price since 2007. It is not unusual for new cancer treatments to debut with a price tag of $100,000 or more for one course of treatment. And, spending on just 10 new “breakthrough” medications is expected to cost taxpayer-funded government programs $50 billion over the next 10 years.

Here at home, this problem is acute. The high cost of cancer drugs made it impossible for our organization to continue to offer medical oncology.  Additionally, the boutique infusion drugs have increased in usage and cost with a high financial burden to patients and hospitals that administer them.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee

The current prescription drug market is broken and it’s unsustainable. That’s why we were pleased to see Sen. Grassley take the lead on new legislation that would bring more prescription drug choices to patients here in Iowa and across America.

The bill, the Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples (CREATES) Act, would close a loophole used by some prescription drug companies to block less expensive generic medications from entering the prescription drug market — restricting patient choices. Generic prescription drugs are often a lower-cost option for patients who rely on medications. This bill is an important step in bringing competition and choice to the prescription drug market.

In fact, the public support for putting an end to runaway prescription drug prices is growing. A national movement — involving hospitals, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, health plans, business owners and patients — is being led by the nonpartisan Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing. Recent polling by the group found that nine in 10 voters here in Iowa said it was “important for presidential candidates to address rising prescription drug costs.” This same group is pushing for actual solutions, like the CREATES Act, to lower prescription drug prices.

With such broad support among the public for commonsense solutions, it is promising that our representatives in Washington are taking action. Sen. Grassley’s leadership should be a lesson to others as Americans call on their elected officials to help stem rising prescription drug prices and make medications more affordable.

Phil Noel

Phil Noel is CEO of Ottumwa Regional Health Center.