HR3 Letter to NJ Congressional Delegation

Because Patients Can’t Wait ®
October 15, 2019
To Whom It May Concern:
As you know, New Jersey is home to nearly 1.5 million seniors who count on Medicare
to receive safe, reliable and effective health care services. That number will continue to
grow, making the improvement and preservation of Medicare critical. Unfortunately, the
recently introduced Lower Drug Costs Now Act (H.R. 3) makes sweeping changes to
the Medicare program – as well as our larger private health care system – by granting
the government authority to set medicine prices in public and private markets that may
have a detrimental impact on future medical innovation.
We are deeply concerned that the proposed changes will significantly destabilize
incentives to invest in research and development of new medicines, with no assurances
that coverage of medicines would improve. Furthermore, this proposal would upend the
successful Medicare Part D program that over 45 million people rely on today. Rather
than supporting this short-sighted proposal, we believe Congress should focus on
changes that prioritize patient-driven care and affordability, like requiring rebates and
discounts on drugs to be shared with patients at the pharmacy counter, increasing
transparency on costs for patients, and promoting value-based payment.
Patients who receive their health care through Medicare and the commercial market
enjoy a wide-range of treatment options and personalized care based on decisions
made between the patient, their family and their doctor. Policies that allow the
government to dictate prices based on international references could lead to the same
access restrictions seen in countries like the United Kingdom or Canada. Reduced
availability of certain drugs will limit a doctor’s ability to offer the best treatment for each
patient’s individual needs. By importing other countries’ prices, policymakers would also
be importing their flawed, government-decided methods for assessing the value of
medicines, which could further restrict access and worsen health outcomes for
American patients.
Additionally, these policies would undermine America’s edge in research and
development. Next generation scientific research continues to yield breakthrough
results for our nation’s most vulnerable patients, in areas like cancer and Hepatitis C.
Policies that threaten the market-based system for medicine development in the U.S.
could eliminate hope for patients waiting for new cures and treatments. With the
biopharmaceutical sector responsible for 376,507 direct and indirect jobs and an

economic impact of $104.7 billion, decreased investment in medical advancement could
significantly hinder our state’s economy.
Access to the most innovative, high quality health care choices must remain at the
forefront of any reform to the Medicare program. Policymakers should reject the H.R. 3
drug pricing package and instead pursue proposals that would focus on direct,
immediate benefits to patients: an out-of-pocket cap in Medicare Part D and an
assurance that rebates given by manufacturers to Pharmacy Benefit Managers actually
make their way to the patient. Beneficiaries deserve to see more money in their pockets
and lower prices at the pharmacy.
Our goal must be to address affordability challenges for New Jersey seniors to
guarantee they are able to access the treatments their doctors have determined is best
for them. Government-imposed price controls that import flawed value assessments
from foreign systems are the wrong approach to health care reform and we sincerely
urge you and your colleagues to vote against this misguided policy. Only then can we
focus our full efforts to directly address out-of-pocket concerns while also preserving the
program’s integrity and promoting future medical progress.
Sincerely,
Action CF
BioNJ
Chemistry Council of New Jersey
Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey
The Family Resource Network
The HealthCare Institute of New Jersey
Mayors Committee on Life Sciences
We Work for Health New Jersey