Merith Basey’s Post

Wondering who are the bad guys when it comes to high drug prices in light of the interim report from the Federal Trade Commission re the shady practices of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs)? Patients For Affordable Drugs said in response to the FTC’s report that it “confirms what patients have long suspected: the largest PBMs wield significant control over which drugs are available for patients and at what price.” PBM reform is urgently needed, according to the organisation’s executive director, Merith Basey, but she also has strong criticism of the pharma industry. “Big pharma should not be excluded from the narrative,” she said. “Nearly 1 in 3 Americans cannot afford their prescription drugs largely due to drug companies’ abuses of the patent system and their ability to set and raise drug prices with impunity.” #drugpricing #pharma #healthequity

Proud to see the spotlight on so many patients in this fantastic piece in TIME magazine by Diane Harris. It is unjust that so many people are forced to find work-arounds in a system that doesn't automatically center their right to access life-saving medicines. It doesn't need to be this way. At Patients For Affordable Drugs we are lucky to fight alongside resilient advocates for a world where everyone has access to the medicines they need at prices they can afford. https://lnkd.in/eNESx7st

Read why Peter Wehrwein reported that "there were also some tense, but restrained, exchanges between Basey, who is executive director of Patients For Affordable Drugs, a patient group that emphasizes its independence from pharmaceutical and other drug industry-related funding, and Kautzner, who is president of Express Scripts, one of the three largest pharmacy benefit managers in the U.S". Make no mistake both pharmaceutical corporations and PBMs are part of the reason patients in the US are paying 4-8 times more for their medicines than anywhere else in the world, and why 1/3 of the US is struggling to fill their prescriptions because of cost. #AHIP2024

Does everything that happens in Vegas stay in Vegas? Hopefully not this time - I’m headed to the city of lights for #AHIP2024 with Patients For Affordable Drugs and an engaging discussion on Making Prescription Drugs Affordable and Accessible for Everyone. Let's connect. #drugpricing #healthequity To register, visit:

Congress is pivoting to more bipartisan ground on this issue. Currently there's widespread agreement on both sides of the aisle that pharmaceutical corporations have gamed the system to keep prices high for patients. Patients know its time for reform and at Patients For Affordable Drugs we intend to keep pushing for the bipartisan bills in Congress that increase competition and help to lower drug prices for everyone (and bonus they even save money)! #drugpricing #patentreform

We're headed to Capitol Hill shortly. We will be there to support the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs, David Mitchell, as he testifies in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on #patent law reforms that will stimulate innovation and promote competition to lower drug prices for everyone in the United States. Drugs don't work if people can't afford them. You can tune in at the link below: #patent #drugpricing #competition #pharma #healthequity

Come work with our team! This is an exciting opportunity to drive change and achieve measurable impact in the collective fight to lower drug prices in the US.

“This move by AstraZeneca disregards the urgent reality faced by millions of patients desperate for relief from abusive drug prices,” the organization wrote. “Despite a judge rejecting the industry’s core constitutional claims just hours earlier, AstraZeneca has decided to double down on its efforts to go against the will of 4-out-of-5 Americans who overwhelmingly support the implementation of Medicare negotiation.” Patients For Affordable Drugs #USvPharma #InflationReductionAct

"There is no doubt that this ruling is a win for patients. It eviscerates the strongest arguments in Big Pharma’s coordinated multi-million dollar attack on Medicare negotiation, a program overwhelmingly supported by Americans. The judge’s unequivocal rejection of the legal arguments presented by Janssen and Bristol Myers Squibb demolishes the drug industry’s entire legal strategy — one fundamentally rooted in prioritizing profits over patients’ health and wellbeing. The judge’s decision reaffirms that pharmaceutical corporations are free to sell to Medicare voluntarily, even if this means they must accept slightly lower negotiated prices to continue to access a market worth billions". https://lnkd.in/er4HRWE4