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A diverse group of 57 patient
advocate organizations, including The AIDS Institute, AIDS United, the AIDS
Foundation of Chicago, and National Association of People with AIDS, delivered
a letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius on
October 2, urging the federal government to establish strong prescription drug
requirements as part of any regulation that will define “essential health
benefits” under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The HHS is due to announce
regulations that would formalize minimum coverage requirements, including for
prescription drugs, that all states will have to include as they define their
essential health benefits. These coverage benefits will set the standard for
most private insurance plans and for the expanded Medicaid coverage. Thus far, guidance issued to the states allows
them to restrict coverage to only one-drug-per-class in a plan’s formulary.
“It’s imperative that all patients,
particularly those with serious and complex medical conditions, have access to
affordable, life-saving drugs,” said Carl Schmid, Deputy Executive Director of
The AIDS Institute. “Limits on what medications are covered are a matter of
life or death for many patients.”
“There’s no single magic pill for
Americans dealing with multiple physical or mental illnesses,” said Andrew
Sperling, Director of Legislative Advocacy for the National Alliance on Mental
Illness (NAMI). “Many of these individuals take multiple medications and
limiting prescription drug options for those living with complex conditions
such as depression, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar
disorder, or schizophrenia—as well as co-morbid physical illness such as
diabetes and hypertension— will endanger the success of their treatment. The
decision of what medicine to prescribe is best left to doctors and specialists,
who require flexible options to treat complex cases.”
Other signatories of the letter
include the American Lung Association, Arthritis Foundation, Easter Seals,
Epilepsy Foundation, Lupus Foundation of America, National Alliance on Mental
Illness (NAMI), National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Parkinson's Action
Network, Prevent Cancer Foundation, and Vietnam Veterans of America.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
