We can do something about pharmaceutical costs

People in every corner of Montana rely on prescription drugs to treat illnesses and conditions ranging from mild to severe. Our most vulnerable neighbors need access to these drugs even more than the rest of us.

Senior citizens, people with chronic conditions, and sick children all use prescriptions to provide them comfort from pain and, in the case of those with the worst sicknesses, keep them alive.

Unfortunately, our most vulnerable people are subject to the greed of pharmaceutical companies who use the difficult circumstances of the sick to raise prices of the most crucial drugs far beyond reasonable market demand.

We have a duty to protect those who can’t protect themselves and I am carrying legislation to do just that.

House Bill 326 will hold greedy pharmaceutical companies accountable for unjust price increases by forcing them to be transparent about their pricing of life-saving drugs, It will include financial penalties for those who cannot justify substantive price increase.

Drug Prices Skyrocketing

Finding an example of pharmaceutical prices putting important treatment out of reach is not difficult. Recently, we’ve seen people like former Turing Pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli raise the price of life saving HIV/AIDS medication from $13.50 per pill to $750 perpill. Worse, he had the nerve to smirk when asked about it.

We’ve also seen EpiPens, which are vital toward saving the lives of people with severe allergies, become

inaccessible to the uninsured due to a 400 percent price increase. These companies are able to set the price as they choose because they aren’t subject to free market forces.

Pharmaceutical patent laws allow companies to have a monopoly of up to 20 years before generic versions can be made to control the cost. As it stands now, companies have no obligation to justify price increases, and their lack of transparency puts Montanans’ well-being in jeopardy.

Affecting the Most Vulnerable

Patients who depend on these drugs have no choice but to pay exorbitant prices. Many of these people are seniors or children with disabilities or chronic, life-threatening diseases, who cannot afford a massive price increase for a drug that keeps them alive. Parents of these same children often have no choice but to take on massive debt to protect them.

We in Montana have a duty to ensure that access to drugs does not lead to financial ruin for those without

adequate coverage. I urge you to support House Bill 326. It will make our drugs more affordable and more importantly, it will save lives.