350+ Patients Urge Policymakers to Reject MFN
By: Priscilla VanderVeer
As policymakers debate Most Favored Nation (MFN) drug pricing, I joined more than 350 patients, people with disabilities, caregivers, and patient organizations to urge them to consider what these policies could mean for patients.
In a letter addressed to Congress and the Administration, we call on policymakers to reject MFN and pursue patient-centered approaches to affordability.
At its core, the letter raises three concerns about what MFN could mean for patients:
MFN could delay patient access to medicines. We point to other countries’ systems, where patients can face lengthy waits for newly approved treatments, and argue that importing those pricing models could limit Americans’ access to new medicines.
MFN does not address the source of most patients’ affordability challenges: inadequate insurance coverage. We argue that MFN would not adequately address problems people face at the pharmacy counter, like high out-of-pocket costs and insurance coverage barriers.
MFN could undermine future medical innovation. We warn that tying U.S. prices to foreign systems would decrease investment in new medicines, like future treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, rare diseases, and other serious conditions.
We need to remove the barriers patients face when trying to access their medicines, not institute pricing policies like MFN that are proven to make these problems worse. We should fix insurance and protect the innovation we depend on to save lives and lower overall healthcare costs. MFN will do neither.
Last week, I shared my own experience navigating the healthcare system as someone living with chronic kidney disease and having undergone two kidney transplants in a RealClearHealth op-ed. I wrote about what MFN could mean for my access to the treatments I may need in the future.
We also recently brought together NPLB patient advocates for a webinar discussing how MFN could affect their care and access to treatment.