PCMA releases statement on GAO report that examines specialty-tier prescription drugs in Medicare Part D

The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) released the following statement today on a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report examining specialty-tier prescription drugs in Medicare Part D:

“Meaningful biogenerics legislation should be the first stop for policymakers tasked with financing health reform. PCMA and a broad coalition of consumers, employers, labor unions, and others support bipartisan legislation that would create a regulatory pathway for the Food and Drug Administration to approve generic versions of biologic products.”

“The high prices of biotech drugs in the new GAO report underscore the importance of creating much-needed competition to lower costs and increase access for these life-saving products. Many of the high-cost biotech medicines examined by GAO do not face generic competition, straining public and private payers’ ability to provide affordable drug benefits for these necessary and often life-changing products. Generic competition lowers costs because it gives patients the power to choose and gives manufacturers an incentive to reduce prices.

“Meaningful biogenerics legislation should be the first stop for policymakers tasked with financing health reform. PCMA and a broad coalition of consumers, employers, labor unions, and others support bipartisan legislation that would create a regulatory pathway for the Food and Drug Administration to approve generic versions of biologic products.”