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ACP calls for transparency, changes to slow rising costs of prescription drugs

The ACP has released a policy paper offering recommendations for stemming the rising cost of prescription drugs.

In the Annals of Internal Medicine, Hilary Daniel, BS, for the Health and Public Policy Committee of ACP, wrote that prescription medication costs are a major concern for payers, physicians and patients.

"High profile cases of high-priced drugs entering the market and price increases for traditional, generic, specialty and biologic medications have thrust the issues of prescription drug price, value and spending to the forefront of health care discussions," the paper stated. "In a Kaiser Family Foundation poll, over 70% of those surveyed felt that drug prices are too high and that companies are too concerned about making profits."

Wayne J. Riley, MD, MPH, MBA, MACP, president of ACP, addressed how escalating prescription drug costs can negatively affect patient care.

Wayne J. Riley

"In the United States we pay comparatively much more for prescription drugs than other countries, an increasing concern for all Americans," he said in a press release. "The impact of these rising costs can be very detrimental to patients, causing them to forgo filling important prescriptions or not taking drugs on the schedule that they are prescribed."

The ACP committee reviewed data sources including studies, surveys, policies and reports regarding various aspects of prescription drug pricing, development and regulation. Based on their review, they formulated seven recommendations:

• complete transparency of all pharmaceutical products, including pricing, cost and value;
• end restrictions on using quality-adjusted life-years in Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute research;
• address medication costs by allowing publicly funded health care programs like Medicare to negotiate volume discounts, reimporting drugs manufactured in the United States, and supporting programs that increase competition for sole-source drugs;
• stop extending exclusivity periods for small-molecule, generic, orphan and biologic drugs beyond what is currently granted;
• encourage approaches to value-based decision making;
• utilize restrictive or tiered formularies to protect patient-cost sharing from high levels that would impose economic barriers on patients; and
• create drug policies that will distinguish originator and biosimilar products to limit patient confusion.

"Through collaboration and innovation, stakeholders have the ability to affect change by supporting transparency in how drugs are priced, developing and piloting novel approaches to evaluate and pay for drugs through evidence-based practices that reward advancements in the medical field, assuring access to needed prescription medication by not placing disproportionate economic burden on patients, encouraging informed patient participation in their health care decision making, and ensuring a truly competitive marketplace," the paper concluded.

Riley urged that the changes be made in order to improve the quality of patient care.

"We continue to pay more and more for drugs, making it harder and harder for patients to afford critical prescriptions," Riley stated. "This situation must change. A prescription drug can only be as effective as a patient's ability to access it and adhere to the medication as prescribed. Year after year of rising costs is clearly a burden for many patients that ultimately impacts their health and quality of life." – by Chelsea Frajerman Pardes

Disclosures: Please see the full paper for a complete list of all authors’ relevant financial disclosures.