Dear John,

We need the Senate to fix this! As the Senate continues to negotiate the House-passed Build Back Better Act, we need the Senate to do better when it comes to the drug pricing provisions contained in the bill.

Medicare beneficiaries need more robust drug price reform, now more than ever, given the extraordinary increase in Medicare Part B premiums driven substantially by the exorbitant cost of the Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services attributes about half of the $21 spike in 2022 Part B monthly premiums to a “contingency reserve” they created to pay for Aduhelm if the agency decides to cover it under Part B.

At $56,000, Aduhelm is “Exhibit A” for what is wrong with drug pricing in the United States. It is an outrage that a drug that hasn’t even been covered by Medicare yet is already set to exact punishing costs from American seniors and people with disabilities.

As you know, the pharmaceutical industry has already succeeded in weakening the drug pricing provisions contained in the Build Back Better legislation. And Big Pharma continues to throw around its significant power and influence in Washington to water it down further.

Help us counter this outsized influence by signing our Emergency Petition now and urge Senators to resist efforts to weaken the drug pricing provisions in the Build Back Better Act. Instead, lawmakers must broaden drug pricing reforms to allow Medicare to negotiate with drug companies for the price of any drug — like Aduhelm — that significantly increases the Part B or Part D premiums. Older Americans and people with disabilities can’t afford anything less!

Sincerely,

Max Richtman
President & CEO