Henry L. Dorkin, MD, FAAP, President of the Massachusetts
Medical Society, released the following statement regarding the Senate HELP
Committee hearing on the cost of prescription drugs:
“Physicians know that it is just as important for medicines
to be accessible as that they be effective. Our patients’ health – and in some
cases, lives – often depend on their being able to afford the medicines they
need. As a pediatric pulmonologist, I have seen the impact of innovative new
medicines on my patients’ lives, but I also know that that the prices
associated with groundbreaking new medications may be out of reach for many of
their families. Physicians have also seen the unfortunate recent trend of rapid
and inexplicable increases in the prices of existing drugs, some of which have
been available to our patients for decades.
“That’s why the Massachusetts Medical Society thanks Senator
Elizabeth Warren and members of the Senate HELP Committee for their work on the
issue of the cost of prescription drugs.
“Transparency in pricing, increased competition, and
regulatory reform are common-sense approaches to ensuring that our patients get
the medicines they need without fear of unsurmountable financial burdens. The
current lack of transparency in the pharmacy benefit manager system potentially
keeps important manufacturer rebates from leading to an actual reduction in the
price consumers pay for those medicines.
“Certainly, the price of prescription drugs is only part of
the problem when it comes to patient access to needed medications. Still, we
congratulate the members of the HELP Committee, including Senator Warren, for
their leadership in convening this important conversation.”
