AGA urges policymakers and stakeholders to improve affordability of drugs

Increasing out-of-pocket expenses can limit access for patients, putting them at risk. Improving affordability requires a multi-faceted approach from across the health care system, including health insurers, drug and biologic manufacturers, and pharmacy benefit managers. The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) urges policymakers and stakeholders to improve the affordability of drugs using these five principles:

• Decrease out-of-pocket expenses for patients, which limit access to necessary therapies and contribute to noncompliance, potentially increasing complications and costs.
• Maintain reasonable incentives for innovation and development of better therapies. Although AGA advocates for reduced out-of-pocket costs for patients, solutions should not disincentive future innovation.
• Increase cost transparency by enabling patients to easily and quickly identify how much they will pay out-of-pocket for treatments, including drugs and biologics, before receiving care.
• Promote shared decision-making and encourage patients to ask questions and express values and opinions about their conditions and treatment options, including discussions about cost.
• Boost competition, which is associated with lower drug and biologic prices, with the largest decreases occurring when there are multiple generic competitors.