AHIP submitted a statement on prescription drug issues for the official record of a June 12, 2018 hearing in the Senate HELP Committee.
Our statement urges the committee to recognize that the pricing process for prescription drugs is driven entirely by the original list price of a branded drug—which is determined solely by the drug company, not by the market or any other participant in the pharmaceutical supply chain. We further emphasize: “Congress needs to address this reality—the problem is the price—as part of any strategy for reducing pharmaceutical costs for the American people.”
Our statement focuses on: (1) our initial perspectives on the Trump Administration’s “Blueprint to Lower Drug Prices”; (2) the consequences that out-of-control prescription drug prices have on consumers; and (3) how health plans work hard on behalf of all consumers to negotiate lower prescription drug costs.