Letters to the editor June 23

Drug prices

Montana may be a rural state, but the challenges our patients face are shared across the country. This includes high drug prices, complicated insurance rules and surprise costs that hit at the pharmacy counter. 

After reading a recent article in FOX News, I’m worried that the Most Favored Nation proposal doesn’t fix any of that. In fact, I worry it could actually make it worse.

Most Favored Nation would peg U.S. drug prices to those in countries that restrict access to new medications. That might help save the government some money, but it won’t help the patient waiting on a cancer drug that never gets approved under a foreign pricing system. Worse, it risks stalling innovation and sending investment elsewhere, cutting off the development of the next breakthrough before it even begins.

Meanwhile, the abusive tactics of pharmacy benefit managers continue without oversight. Pharmacy benefit managers act as gatekeepers, deciding which medications make it to patients, which get swapped out, and how much they cost. They don’t answer to patients or doctors. However, they shape access at every level.

Montanans expect common-sense solutions. It’s time to stop tinkering with imported pricing models and start rebuilding a system that supports the patients and researchers who keep it moving forward.

— Thomas Collins, Columbia Falls