Statement from CLS CEO, Mike Guerra, on CMS Drug Pricing
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Following the conclusion of an arbitrary process, CMS has released the drug prices for the first ten products selected for the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program with cuts to list prices for the selected drugs. Despite today’s announcement, it remains unclear on what the price cuts actually mean for patient savings and access. Unfortunately, CMS has not committed to actionable steps to ensure patient access will not be disrupted.
Today’s announcement is a blow to the innovative life sciences ecosystem that is the envy of the world. We will continue to work with CMS and stakeholders to ensure pricing decisions reflect the value they bring to patients, and therefore sustains an investment environment required to bring the next generation of medicines and cures to patients.
What is clear is that the fight to ensure affordable and accessible medicines for patients, continues. Legislative action to address the abusive practices of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), who ultimately decide what patients pay for their medicines, is needed to address the underlying cause of patient access and affordability issues.