Making Safe Prescription Drugs More Affordable and Accessible
For many of us, a pharmaceutical regimen is part of daily life. From controlling blood pressure to keeping cholesterol in check, life-saving medicines have transformed healthcare to the point where medical problems are manageable with prescription drugs. But pharmaceutical advancements come with a big price tag. Prescription drugs account for a whopping $307 billion in annual healthcare expenses, an amount expected to rise as new therapies come on the market.
It’s clear that a key component to building an affordable healthcare system is access to safe, cost effective medications like generic drugs.
"Generics" offer a safe alternative to brand-name medications. Today, four out of every five prescriptions are filled with generics, which are 75% less expensive than the brand counterparts yet identical in composition. But so many more of these generic drugs — 2,800 to be precise — are stuck in the "pipeline" because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lacks the resources to inspect the factories where they are made and approve their usage.
Today’s drug supply chain is global in nature, and many of these medications include ingredients produced in foreign countries. But under current law, overseas facilities are not routinely visited by the FDA, delaying the approval process and slowing down the generic medicines introduced in the marketplace.
To break down these obstacles and ensure a safe and swift FDA process, I introduced the Generic Drug and Biosimilar User Fee Act (H.R. 3988). In addition to putting foreign factories under the same rigorous inspection regime as domestic plants, my bill establishes the first-ever generic drug user fee program so that generic drug companies — not taxpayers or consumers— bear the $300 million annual cost of application review and foreign factory inspections.
My bill was approved by the House of Representatives as part of an FDA reform package in May and it is on track to be signed into law as soon as this summer. This will go a long way towards bringing down healthcare costs by lowering your pharmacy bills while ensuring your medications are of the highest quality.
As co-chair of the Doctors Caucus, I’m focused on healthcare reforms like the generic drug legislation because it will save lives and put money back into your pocket. For more information, visit my web site at Murphy.House.Gov. On a related note, I know many Medicare recipients find that the maze of plans and options to be quite challenging. Should you have any questions, please contact my office in Mt. Lebanon at 412-344-5583 or Greensburg at 724-850-7312.
Margaret French
8:23 am on Saturday, July 14, 2012
Something needs to be done about health insurance companies too. My mother and I take the same drug and same dosage for our high blood pressure. I have to pay $102.00 for my thirty day supply and she pays $36.00 for a 90 day supply. Same drug, same dosage. It's ridiculous anymore.
Cindy McPherson
12:34 am on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
How can someone who brags about opposing the Affordable Care Act, which eliminates the 'donut hole' for prescription drugs under Medicare Part D, have the nerve to write some puff piece about making medicine more affordable? How stupid does Tim Murphy think we are?
Just Chuck
8:24 am on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Murphy, seriously. More gobment involvement in our lives. More spending. The Tribune had an opinion piece last weekend citing that Murphy had voted for 23 of 43 amendments that increased spending just in the last few months. He is just another big spending gobment guy. We had our chance to send him up the the road (Feinberg) but the brain-dead public gave him another 2 years. He has got to go. Throw all the bums out!
proud American
9:18 am on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
No one is saying we don't need a reform in health care but not a bill that no one can tell you how it is going to end up and what the cost is going to be in the long run. It needs to be broken down into section, cost of insurance,cost of medicines, making sure all people are able to get benefits, etc. Mr Murphy is just addressing one section at this time and explaining it so people are able to understand it and be able to pay for it. The ACA act is just a pig in a poke like all these laws that are passed with out reading them and knowing before hand how to pay for them. Do you seriously want your meds made by a foreign country that has no inspection by us. Keep up the good work Congressman Murphy you have done a lot of good in our area and I have found your office very helpful in many situations.
cc
10:21 am on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Congressman Murphy is one of the most wonderful men we have representing us. You really think Congressman Murphy is wasting money. He just helped save the911th Airlift Wing from being closed down and has saved jobs here. He is also one of the few Congressmen that pushed the Military and Veterans Hospitals for more care for servicemen and women that suffer from PTSD.
There is a toll-free phone number for business to ask questions about obamacare and guess where the phone calls are answered at? I'll give you a hint, not in the United States. It was outsourced to Indonesia, thank you democrats for putting people out of our country to work instead of hiring people here at home to answer questions.
Anthony Brown
11:07 am on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Cindy- you unintentionally landed on a truth in your indictment of Mr. Murphy.
There actually may be some good in an individual bill- but also buried inside may be a lot of bad.
ACA/Obamacare is a shining example.
There was no need to have a 2700 page bill (WHICH HAS SPAWNED ,so far, ANOTHER 14000 PAGES of regulations and 14000 new IRS agents) to simply eliminate the donut hole.
What we , as a citizenry, MUST do- is demand accountability from our politicians and Government.
A good place to start would be to demand:
ONE ISSUE BILLS- no earmarks, no combining of separate issues, attest that you actually read the bill,written plainly and limited in size
(no more 1500 page bills), posted online for public review for
a minimum of 72 hours (other than declared national emergency)
Term Limits are also solely needed so that the individual Representative is voting for beliefs vs re election
Cindy McPherson
11:38 am on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
I called Tim Murphy's office on several occasions and never got a response. He's the classic 'politician'- only does the safe thing that helps him get re-elected. He panders to the Tea Party during the Primaries and then panders to organized labor in the General. Name one time he ever went out on a limb and did something that he knew would anger his campaign donors and insider pals because it was the right thing to do.
cc
3:51 pm on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Never had a problem calling Murphy's office and not getting a call back within 24 hours. Murphy's staff is great about returning calls.
Anthony Brown
12:54 pm on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Cindy- you seem to again make one of my points by decrying alleged course of action or "pandering" to get re-elected- Hence TERM LIMITS
I get that you do not like him or the Tea Party- but you have strayed from your own comments and the article.
cc
9:06 am on Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Tim Murphy has the backing of Unions, Why because he is for the middle class.
Oren Spiegler
4:08 pm on Thursday, July 19, 2012
Representative Murphy opens with the following statement, "For many of us, a pharmaceutical regimen is part of daily life." We should stop right there. Why are we such heavy users of dangerous drugs that merely treat symptoms? Why do we not recognize that the buck stops with us, that proper nutrition, avoidance of excessive consumption of alcohol, fats, sugars, and salt, and engagement in regular aerobic exercise will enable most individuals to remain healthy and for the body to heal itself? We Americans are but a small fraction of the world's population; we consume the overwhelming majority of the world's drugs, yet we are the sickest population on earth. There is something wrong, friends!
cc
9:17 am on Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Oren agree we are the ones that have to keep our bodies healthy and you can't blame anyone else but yourself. We have a major obesity problem in the United States,which can leads to diabetics, heart problems, strokes.