Source: laopinion.com
La Opinion, the largest national Spanish-language outlet, published a piece by patient advocate, Irma Resendez, on H.R.3, which would limit the development of innovative new treatments and decimate the innovation ecosystem in California by threatening patient access to much-needed treatments.
Before I became an advocate, I was a patient. I was a woman who was in constant severe pain and disabled due to the complications of a chronic condition called multiple sclerosis – a disease that I knew very little about, including where to go for help and the primary reason why I founded Familia Unida.
Today, I am no longer disabled and in debilitating pain. I walk without assistance and I’m able to live a full life with my Familia Unida community but, I should not be an exception.
Members of Familia Unida as well as my husband suffer from conditions that would benefit from the innovative treatments with provider specialists. This is why I oppose H.R.3, misguided federal legislation that would decimate California’s innovation ecosystem and threaten patient access to much-needed treatments, particularly for older adults and those living with a disability or chronic illness.
In countries that have implemented price controls similar to those in H.R. 3, patients have faced significant access restrictions and delays to new treatments.
For example, there is an 18-month average lag between the times cancer treatments are available in the U.S. compared to other developed countries. And, countries with government-mandated price controls have fewer available treatment options. While nearly 90% of new medicines launched from 2011 to 2018 are available in the U.S., just 59% are available in the U.K., 50% in France, and 36% in Australia.
What’s equally troubling is how in many of these countries, prices are typically based on value assessments, which heavily discriminate against patients that are most in need, such as those with chronic conditions, rare diseases, communities of color, and Medicare beneficiaries.
This is such an important issue to me that I created the Your Voice Your Value program in 2020 to stand up against the dangerous practice of value assessments, and envision a future where people are not defined by the prices of their treatments.
It is critical that policymakers pursue solutions to decrease health care costs. However, Congress should avoid any policy proposals that will limit the development of and patient access to innovative new treatments. In the wake of COVID-19, it is particularly irresponsible to support policies that stifle vital innovation and are detrimental to the quality of life for all Californians.
Irma Resendez is chief executive officer and founder of Familia Unida Living with MS based in Los Angeles.
Barbara Jacoby is an award winning blogger that has contributed her writings to multiple online publications that have touched readers worldwide.