New Hampshire health care leaders have called for action from Congress or Concord to lower the high cost of prescription drugs in the Granite State.

CONCORD – In a press conference this week, a group of New Hampshire citizens and health care leaders called for real action from Congress or Concord to lower the high cost of prescription drugs in the Granite State.

Citizens, and New Hampshire Sen. Tom Sherman (D-Rye), who serves on the state’s Health and Human Services committee, joined Protect Our Care NH for a virtual forum to call on the state legislature to take action to lower prescription drug costs for Americans.

Ironically, as the press event was coming to a close, it was announced that the Supreme Court issued a 7-2 decision to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, after finding that the plaintiffs lacked legal standing to challenge the law.

Protect Our Care NH chair Jayme Simoes said the average cost of prescription drugs per year is $1,200 for every American, which translates to $335 billion annually.

While the United States does not directly regulate prescription drug prices, here in Nashua, Harbor Care Health & Wellness Center Director of Pharmacy and Integrative Health Jay Gupta said our homeless population can’t pay for life-saving care because of prescription drug prices.

“People who experience homelessness for whatever reason, and have chronic diseases – it may be a substance abuse disorder, or a mental illness, and they may not have health insurance, and cannot pay for care,” Gupta said. “Drug price inflation has been present for decades.”

Simoes added that most Americans don’t continue their prescribed course of medicine because of cost.

“Here in New Hampshire, the answer has been to pass bills to import prescription drugs from Canada,” Simoes said. “And a week ago, Canada said, ‘no way.’ Their prescription drug plan is designed for their citizens.”

Canada responded to the import scheme by saying “The Government of Canada has examined the U.S. rule on the importation of prescription drugs and determined that it will not provide an effective solution to the problem of high drug prices in the U.S. Canada’s drug market is too small to meet American consumer demand for prescription drugs or have an impact on high drug prices. Implementation of programs of this nature could exacerbate drug shortages in Canada, putting the health of Canadians at risk.”

Members of the virtual event called for “real reform” to lower prescription drug costs, which remains a priority for N.H. residents and patients across the country.

New polls show that after addressing COVID-19, the top issue for voters is lowering health and drug costs and 93% support giving Medicare the power to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices.

In 2019, House Democrats passed the Lower Drug Costs Now Act (H.R.3), which is legislation designed to give Medicare the power to negotiate for lower drug costs. In April, House Democrats reintroduced the legislation, giving Congress another opportunity to lower prescription drug costs, and meet the demands of voters.

Sen. Sherman, who is serving his first term representing Senate District 24, said he’s seen “a huge evolution” in the promise of medicine, but also the price of medicine.

“You get into a moral concern where you can’t access life-saving medicine because corporations are trying to make a profit off of them,” Sherman stated. “In our current New Hampshire budget, there is very little to address prescription drugs.”

New Hampshire Nurses Association past president Joan Widmer stated that she has often seen patients who couldn’t afford to pay the price of their prescription drugs.

“People were taking blood pressure medication every other day because they could not afford to take it every day,” Widmer said. “Sometimes we make the wrong decision in healthcare, and we end up paying more in the long run.”

Daniel Roberge, a New Hampshire resident and professional chef, spoke of his long-running family history of medical issues and accessibility.

“In the food service industry, workers struggle to afford proper medications,” Roberge said. “It feels like a never-ending cycle as a citizen in the community. I needed an Epipen, I did not have access to one, and at $650 per shot, I could not afford it. It affects the entire community and there needs to be a wake-up call that these drug prices need to be lower.”

In the Lakes Region, Dana Hackett said her daughter was diagnosed with several auto-immune diseases and needed extremely traumatic treatment.

“She now needs to start on a biologic immunosuppressant, which due to her age, is very limited in options,” Hackett explained. “The one that her rheumatologist would like to start her on is one where she will have to try several medications in order for insurance to cover it. Which for a five-year-old means I’m going to have to put her through unnecessary drug trials.”

Hackett went on to say the price tag for that is between five and fifteen thousand dollars a month.

“They’re trying to get her into a vaccine trial,” Hackett said. “But the fact that I have to put my child through unnecessary medical procedures needed for insurance to cover life-saving medications is hard, very hard. Things have been very tight for us. This is a different world.”

According to the National Library of Medicine, per capita prescription drug spending in the United States is greater than that in all other countries, and in recent years, the rise is far beyond the consumer price index. The root is government-granted drug manufacturer monopolies – and the cost to the economy is huge. Prescription drug spending by Americans increased by 5.7% to $369.7 billion in 2019.

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