Prescription Drug Prices are Too High.

It is outrageous for Wisconsinites – and all Americans - to pay more than 3 times what people in other countries pay for the same medicine. Prescription drug prices are high because there is nothing stopping drug manufacturers from charging high prices. The drug companies entirely control the supply of a newer medicine because they hold the patent rights. That gives them a monopoly on the drug for the 20-year life of the patent and they can raise prices as frequently and as much as the market will bear. Drug companies also “game the system’ with patents and can seek approval for a “new” product that is a slight variation on the original, thus extending their monopoly even longer. In addition, high prices are often blamed on research and development costs when the reality is that virtually all of today’s drugs have roots in government-funded research at the National Institutes of Health or leading academic centers across the country.

Why This Issue is Important
The skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs affect almost everyone in America, putting a strain not only on family budgets, but on state budgets as well. Our country has the highest brand-name drug prices in the world. While prescription drug prices continue skyrocketing, too many Wisconsinites are being forced to choose between filling life-saving medications or paying rent and buying food.

By the statistics:

• In 2017, 22% of Wisconsin residents stopped taking medication as prescribed due to cost.
• Nearly 80% of every Big Pharma dollar goes to something other than research and development.
• The average annual cost of prescription drug treatment increased 57.8% between 2012 and 2017, while the annual income for Wisconsinites only increased 12.9%.

AARP is fighting for legislation that would:

• Establish a $50 copay cap on insulin and create an Insulin Safety Net Program.
• Create a Prescription Drug Affordability Review Board that would reduce costs and prevent price gouging.
• Create the Office of Prescription Drug Affordability to serve as a watchdog over the pharmaceutical industry and look out for Wisconsin consumers.
• Increase consumer protections from deceptive marketing and advertising practices on Rx.

Take Action!
Contact your local state legislators and ask them how they plan to address the high cost of prescription drugs.

You can use the key points below to inform your message. If you have a personal story about the cost of prescription drugs, please include that in your message.

Key Points:

• Medications don’t work if people can’t afford them. Creating a $50 co-pay cap on insulin and an insulin safety net program will help people get the life-saving drugs they need.
• Drug companies are making billions in profits off seniors and taxpayers. A Prescription Drug Affordability Review Board would reduce costs and prevent price gouging.
• We need to make drug prices more transparent and easier to understand. Requiring oversight, licensure and reporting across the pharmacy supply chain - from pharmacy benefit managers to pharmaceutical sales reps - will help increase this transparency.
• It is unfair that drug prices keep going up, even for medications that have been on the market for decades. Proposals such as requiring drug makers to report the reasons behind dramatic prescription drug price increases are a great step understanding unfair drug prices.
• Americans shouldn’t have to pay the highest prices in the world for the medicines they need. AARP supports allowing the state to import safe and lower-priced drugs from other countries.
• People shouldn’t have to choose between buying medicine and paying for food or rent. AARP is urging the state legislators to lower prescription drug prices now.