Congressman John Joyce: Now is the time to lower costs of prescription drugs

Congressman John Joyce: Now is the time to lower costs of prescription drugs
Johnstown Tribune-Democrat

Picture this scene. A patient returns to his or her doctor to be reevaluated after a few weeks of being treated with a prescription drug.

At the end of the follow-up appointment, the doctor and patient are both encouraged by the progress that the medication has delivered, and the doctor begins to write a prescription for a refill.

There's only one problem: the drug is too expensive and the patient has to explain to his or her doctor that he or she cannot afford to renew it.

As a physician in Blair County for more than 25 years, I saw that same scene play out in my office far too often. No matter how many times I watched patients fight back tears and decline another round of the medicine that they so desperately needed, my level of sadness and frustration was always the same.

andldquo;There has to be some way to make these products more affordable,andrdquo; I would think to myself.

It wasn't just a problem in my office. Prescription drug spending in the United States overall has increased by 50 percent since 2010.

The high costs that my patients were forced to pay for their medications was one of the health care issues that motivated me to run for Congress. And introducing the Ensuring Timely Access to Generics Act of 2019 was the first step in my quest to make prescription drugs more affordable for all Americans.

It's important to realize that there are many factors that lead to the rising costs of prescription drugs, but one of the main issues facing patients is that they often do not have enough access to cheaper, generic medications.

The reason that is the case is because brand-name drug manufacturers are currently using the tactic of filing andldquo;citizen petitionsandrdquo; to delay generic medications from accessing the market.

Citizen petitions are supposed to be tools that can be used by concerned consumers to get the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to extend the approval process for potentially harmful drugs. However, a 2016 American University Law Review study found that brand manufacturers actually file 92 percent of citizen petitions.

The study states, andldquo;Citizen petitions represent a hidden tool in brands' toolkit of entry-delaying activity, and when used inappropriately, force consumers to pay high drug prices while providing no offsetting safety benefit.andrdquo;

My new legislation will put a stop to this problem of brand-name companies abusing citizen petitions to pad their profit margins.

If the Ensuring Timely Access to Generics Act becomes law, the FDA will gain the authority to deny citizen petitions if they deem their primary purpose is delaying the approval of a drug's transition to the generic marketplace. Getting rid of these frivolous citizen petitions will increase competition in the generic marketplace and finally lower prescription drugs for patients.

So what is the possibility that this legislation can get across the finish line?

It is not lost on me that some may view this bill with skepticism because of the fundamental disagreements Democrats and Republicans in Congress are currently having regarding the future of our overall health care system.

But these broader differences should not impede us from working together on the health care fixes that we agree on and can implement right now.

The Ensuring Timely Access to Generics Act has bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress. To put it simply, it's one of the most realistic chances we have to deliver on this issue for the American people.

When I prescribed medication to my patients, I never cared if they were Democrats or Republicans, I just wanted them to get better.

On this legislation, I don't care if the majority of co-sponsors are Republicans or Democrats either. Lower drug costs should not be a partisan cause.

I encourage as many members of Congress as possible to support it so we can bring it to the floor and provide cheaper health care to all Americans.

###