Latest news with #HB2048
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Don't let Big Pharma's out-of-state lobbyists undermine Oklahoma's drug program
Will Rogers once said, 'This country is bigger than Wall Street. If they don't believe it, show 'em the map.' That wisdom is alive in the Oklahoma Legislature, where lawmakers are standing up to Big Pharma ― the $6 trillion pharmaceutical industry ― by rejecting its attempts to protect profits at the expense of rural Oklahomans' access to health care. The same industry that spends billions convincing you to buy their latest drugs is working behind the scenes to block hospitals and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) from fully participating in the federal 340B drug program. Established by Congress over 30 years ago, 340B requires drug manufacturers to sell medications at reduced prices to qualifying hospitals and FQHCs, ensuring vulnerable communities have access to affordable care. Critical access hospitals (CAHs), which serve our most rural areas, automatically qualify ― yet the pharmaceutical industry is attempting to curtail their participation. This program costs taxpayers nothing. It's strictly regulated and subject to rigorous federal oversight. But that hasn't stopped Big Pharma from bankrolling misleading campaigns to manipulate public opinion and intimidate state lawmakers against supporting HB 2048. Authored by Rep. Preston Stinson and Sen. Brent Howard, the bill would ensure hospitals and FQHCs can fully participate in the program, safeguarding health care access across Oklahoma. Earlier this session, out-of-state pharma executives flew into our state to pressure lawmakers against supporting the bill. Their tactics backfired. The Oklahoma House of Representatives soundly passed the bill, rejecting Big Pharma's deception, and Oklahomans should, too. The same industry responsible for 300,000 opioid deaths is using its financial influence to deploy so-called 'patient advocacy' groups to defend its obstruction to this vital program. These organizations, funded by Big Pharma, protect industry profits, not patients. More: My daughter has Type 1 diabetes. New bill will hurt vulnerable patients like her. | Opinion Consider diabetes. Three companies control 90% of the insulin market, yet they charge Oklahomans nearly 10 times what patients in other countries pay. According to the OECD, the U.S. manufacturer price for insulin averages $98.70, compared to just $8.81 in other countries. For those with Type 2 diabetes, semaglutide medications offer hope. But once again, Big Pharma exploits American consumers. According to the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, the list price for Ozempic is $936 per month in the U.S. ― five times the price in Japan and 10 times that in Europe or Australia. Oklahoma ranks fourth nationally in diabetes mortality, yet residents pay more for life-saving medication. Under Big Pharma's rules, Americans pay retail while the rest of the world pays wholesale. Last year, a federal appeals court upheld Louisiana's 340B protections. Oklahoma's proposed law mirrors Louisiana's, yet Big Pharma continues fighting nationwide to block access to this vital program ― including here in Oklahoma. Don't be fooled by dark money ads and pharma-funded advocacy groups that vilify our rural hospitals and FQHCs. It's time to put Oklahoma patients first and stand up to a trillion-dollar industry that only shows up when their profits are at stake. Rich Rasmussen is president and CEO of Oklahoma Hospital Association. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Big Pharma trying to undermine Oklahoma's drug program | Opinion
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
My daughter has Type 1 diabetes. New bill will hurt vulnerable patients like her.
As a mother of a daughter with Type 1 diabetes, I live with the constant stress of ensuring she has the insulin she needs to survive. Every month, many spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on insulin and other essential supplies, and these costs have only continued to rise ― despite the net costs of insulin declining significantly over the past 15 years. Meanwhile, hospitals participating in the federal 340B drug pricing program pay just a fraction, yet many fail to pass those savings on to the patients who need them most. This abuse is why I urge Oklahoma legislators to oppose House Bill 2048, a bill that would expand the 340B program in our state without ensuring the accountability and transparency necessary to protect vulnerable patients, like my daughter. This expansion would allow more large hospitals systems to reap massive discounts on prescription drugs without any requirement to use those savings to lower drug costs for patients or reinvest in services for vulnerable communities. Instead, many large hospital systems pocket the difference, leaving families struggling to afford life-saving medications while the hospitals reap their profits. The 340B program was originally designed to help safety-net hospitals provide low-cost medications to uninsured and low-income patients. However, charity care accounts for only 2.3% of operating costs at Oklahoma hospitals participating in 340B. To put this in perspective of their profits, from 2014 to 2022, Oklahoma 340B hospitals saw their assets increase by $65,000 per bed, more than 10 times their growth in charity care. HB 2048 would only exacerbate this issue, expanding a broken system that allows hospitals to profit while patients continue to suffer from increasing health care costs. Opinion: Oklahoma ranks 44th for colorectal cancer screening. Awareness, education needed For families like mine, the stakes of this reform are painfully real. My daughter's insulin is her lifeline, not a luxury. Insulin is not optional and she's not able to skip doses or ration her supply. It's the difference between life and death. Yet, under the current system, hospitals purchase insulin at drastically reduced prices through 340B and fail to pass those savings down to families in need. Before expanding 340B, Oklahoma lawmakers should instead focus on reforms that increase transparency and accountability for hospitals participating in the program to ensure the program returns to its mission. We must ensure that hospitals benefiting from these discounts reinvest the savings into direct patient care and lower drug prices. Oklahomans should not be left guessing whether a hospital is using the program as intended or merely boosting its bottom line. Opinion: I nearly died giving birth. A new Oklahoma bill could've prevented my care As lawmakers consider this bill, I urge them to think about the real people affected by high drug prices, including families like mine, who live in constant fear that they won't be able to afford the medication their child needs to survive. Expanding the 340B program without the necessary oversight is not the answer. Legislators should put Oklahomans before hospital profits and reform this broken program. Kim Koleber is the parent of a child with Type 1 diabetes living in Tulsa, and a member of the Oklahoma Legislative Diabetes Caucus, which supports legislative activities that would improve diabetes research education and treatment. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OK bill will allow hospitals to profit while patients suffer | Opinion
