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WASHINGTON — The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) released a new policy platform, “Unlocking an Affordable Future,” designed to provide policymakers a roadmap to prioritize patients with public policy solutions that promote competition in the prescription drug market, lower costs, and support better health outcomes.
The “Unlocking an Affordable Future” platform calls on policymakers and all members of the prescription drug supply chain to work toward a more sustainable health care system that prioritizes affordability and access.
“Supporting an affordable and accessible health care future for patients is fundamental to the role and mission of pharmacy benefit companies,” said PCMA President and CEO JC Scott. “Our vision is to enhance competition in the prescription drug marketplace by preventing gaming of the patent system, promoting steps that enable clinicians to better serve patients and improve the patient experience, and to better leverage the work done by pharmacy benefit companies to deliver lower costs, all leading to better health outcomes. By building on what is working, the ‘Affordable Future’ policies present a path for strengthening and sustaining our health care system.”
Pharmacy benefit companies are committed to driving lower costs, and we look forward to working with policymakers to advance these solutions to unlock an affordable health care future.”
PCMA’s vision for a more accessible and affordable health care future focuses on solutions in three key areas that would result in a more functional, equitable, and affordable market for patients to access prescription drugs.
Specific policy solutions proposed in the platform include:
Promote an Affordable, Competitive, & Sustainable Prescription Drug Market:
- Stop patent abuse by big drug companies. End anticompetitive practices such as “patent thickets,” “evergreening,” and “product hopping” that prevent less expensive competing products, like generics and biosimilars, from entering the marketplace and providing more affordable alternatives for patients.
- Support a robust biosimilar market and encourage investment in these critical alternatives to the highest cost brand name treatments.
- Reserve market exclusivities for true innovation and ensure alternatives to high-priced brand name drugs can compete fairly.
- Protect pharmacy networks as critical to securing lower costs for patients.
Support and Arm Clinicians with Tools and Data to Most Effectively Serve Patients:
- Support clinicians with data and tools to improve efficiency and serve patients most effectively.
- Empower clinicians to practice at the top of their license to best serve patients.
- Encourage the use of lower cost care options.
Enhance Patient Outcomes and Improve the Patient Experience:
- Accelerate value-based care that prioritizes clinical value and better health outcomes for patients.
- Advance use of real-world evidence to protect patient safety.
- Prioritize models of care that work for patients.
- Encourage cost-saving innovations that can also improve patient experience, like home delivery.
Access the full “Unlocking an Affordable Future” platform HERE.
