Published in Pawtucket Times on March 15, 2004

Seniors can only hope the pen is mightier than the sword as senior advocates send correspondence to CEOs of major drug companies, urging them to take more responsibility in putting the brakes on skyrocketing pharmaceutical drug costs.

Last Monday, AARP CEO William D. Novelli drafted a letter challenging 16 CEOs of major drug companies to lower the nation’s spiraling drug costs.

AARP’s CEO charged in this correspondence -which has been obtained by All About Seniors – that even with last year’s newly enacted Medicare prescription drug law, high drug prices are still a very serious issue for the nation’s seniors.

“Too many people cannot afford the drugs they need,” Novellis said, resulting in a “very substantial non-compliance with physicians’ recommendations.

Also contributing to higher drug prices, said AARP’s top official, is that seniors do not use geriatrics despite their “comparable effectiveness and lower cost.”

Novelli called on each drug company CEO to limit their company’s price increases to no greater than the level of inflation for current drug products. Additionally, he requested they stop price increases of new drugs, asking them to use their influence to stop drug mark-ups throughout the drug distribution chain.

Novelli urged the drug company CEOs to support drug-importation legislation, subject to proper FDA oversight to ensure safety of the imported medications. (Currently there is legislation being considered by Rhode Island lawmakers to allow drug importation from Canada).

Furthermore, Novelli asked CEOs for their drug companies’ strong endorsement of federal and state funding “to support clinically based, comparative effectiveness research that will permit objective, scientific comparisons of specific drugs in the same therapeutic class.”

Novell even urged the CEOs not to oppose any federal legislation introduced that would provide the Secretary of Health and Human Services with appropriate negotiating authority in the event the competitive private purchasing system does not produce the anticipated cost savings for the Medicare program.

The Republican-crafted Medicare law does not allow the federal government to negotiate for lower drug prices – a move that’s been opposed by the Democrats.

To put the brakes on rising out-of-pocket costs for seniors, Novelli also asked the CEOs to support a disclosure of pricing information by pharmaceutical benefits managers to their payer clients. This would assure that those enrolled in the Medicare program will receive full advantage of negotiated discounts and rebates.

Better displays of drug information regarding the risks, side effects and proven effectiveness of their consumer advertising is needed, Novelli told the CEOs. He also called for generics to be quickly moved into the marketplace when the patent has expired for brand name drugs.

In his correspondence, Novelli called on the CEOs to follow the ethics guidelines of the American Medical Association when it comes to giving gifts to physicians and sponsorships of educational meetings.

Last month, Lt. Gov. Charles J. Fogarty, chairman of the state’s Long-Term Care Coordinating Council, in Feb. 19 correspondence, called on Alan F. Holmer, president and CEO of PhRMA, to join the lead of drug manufacturer Merck in providing medication at no cost to low-income Medicare beneficiaries who participate in the new federal Medicare prescription drug discount card program.

Low-income seniors would be eligible for the Merck benefit once they use up their $ 600 federal allotment on their cards. Fogarty said in his written statement.

The Medicare drug discount cards are an interim measure put in place by the federal government until 2006, when newly passed Medicare changes will take affect, said Fogarty. The lieutenant governor, along with many of the state’s senior advocacy groups and the state’s Congressional delegation, have given their thumbs-down to the Republican-backed enacted Medicare revisions and have urged Congress to scrap the law and “to back to the drawing table.”

By accepting his invitation to help lower the cost of pharmaceutical rugs, Fogarty believes, “This will give the industry the opportunity to partner with the government and make a significant difference for those in need.”

The seniors’ battle to slash the out-of-pocket costs of pharmaceuticals must take place both on Capitol Hill, inside the Washington, D.C. Beltway, and at the Rhode Island Statehouse in Providence.  Novelli and Fogarty are now taking the fight to the boardrooms of major drug manufacturers across the nation.

Seniors may well hope that the pen is indeed mightier than the corporate sword.