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October 15, 2014
Congress Launches Investigation of Soaring
Washington, D.C.—Congress finally will take a hard look at the dramatic escalation in generic drug prices.
Generic Drug Prices U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, and U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, D-MD, wrote in a recent letter to 14 pharmaceutical companies, “We are conducting an investigation into the recent staggering price increases for generic drugs used to treat everything from common medical conditions to life-threatening illnesses.” Sanders is chairman of a Senate healthcare subcommittee, while Cummings is the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee. A congressional investigation was requested in January by the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA). In a letter to leaders of the Senate Health Education Labor & Pensions Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the NCPA argued that surging prices for generic drugs was harming patients as well as community pharmacies. At the time, NCPA CEO Doug Hoey, RPh, MBA, maintained that many essential generic drugs had risen by as much as 600% to 1,000% or even more, according to a survey of more than 1,000 community pharmacists. “Over the last six months I have heard from so many of our members across the U.S. who have seen huge upswings in generic drug prices that are hurting patients and pharmacies ability to operate,” Hoey wrote in January the letter to Sens. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) as well as U.S. Reps. Fred Upton (R-MI) and Henry Waxman (D-CA). “We respectfully request that you schedule an oversight hearing to examine what factors might have led to these un-manageable spikes in generic drugs and what steps can be taken at the federal level to alleviate the burden that has been placed on our members and the patients they serve,” he wrote. The investigation was not launched by the targeted legislators but by Sanders and Cummings, who noted in their letter to pharmaceutical companies that the average cost for a bottle of 100 albuterol sulfate pills was $11 last October, rising to $434 by April. The price for the antibiotic doxycycline hyclate, meanwhile, skyrocketed from $20 for a bottle of 500 tablets to $1,849, they added. The two legislators said their price data came from the private Washington, D.C.-based Healthcare Supply Chain Association. That group surveyed average prices paid by organizations that help hospitals, nursing homes, and home health agencies negotiate with pharmaceutical companies and other vendors for discounts. The figures are similar to wholesale prices, and not necessarily the amount patients are charged, according to Sander’s office. Cummings and Sanders also cited the NCPA survey which found that pharmacists across the country “have seen huge upswings in generic drug prices that are hurting patients” and that those price increases are having a “very significant” impact on community pharmacists’ ability to stay in business. That survey also found that some patients were refusing to fill essential prescriptions because of rising costs. “It is unacceptable that Americans pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. Generic drugs were meant to help make medications affordable for the millions of Americans who rely on prescriptions to manage their health needs. We’ve got to get to the bottom of these enormous price increases,” Sanders said. “Generic drugs have historically resulted in huge savings for consumers and for taxpayers,” Cummings added. “However, these outrageous recent cost increases are now preventing patients from getting the drugs they need, and they merit further investigation to better understand what factors are driving these price spikes.” |
U.S. Pharmacist Social Connect
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