Dear
Editor,
As a
three-year breast cancer survivor, I recently testified in support of the
bi-partisan group of bills which address prescription drug affordability and
accessibility.
Due to
various side effects, there is only one drug I can tolerate that treats my
specific type of cancer and I need to take it for at least five years. It
started out at $789 a month. I am on year three and it’s down to $365 a
month which is $12.19 per pill. I know people in this same drug class
group who are getting the same medication, same dose and everything, for $30 a
month.
My
friends in other countries on the same drug cannot believe the prices we have
to pay. I’m not complaining – I’m glad I am able to afford the medication
– but we need a better control system so all of us can afford these drugs that
we need in order to stay healthy. In some cases, these drugs are
literally keeping us alive.
The
truth is, at the end of the day we all pay, even if we have insurance. As the
cost of the drugs go up, insurance pays more and eventually so do the patients
by way of additional co-pays and higher premiums and deductibles.
Pharmaceutical
companies won’t help us. So, I turn to our state legislators, to stand up for
Mainers everywhere and to fight these terrible costs that in some cases cost us
our lives. We shouldn’t be choosing between cutting our pills in half and
going without food. You know and I know that thousands of Mainers are
doing just that. It is time to stop the prescription drug price-gouging
and demand a better way to keep these necessary medications within reach.
Please pass these bills and let’s make this difference together.
Mary
Ann Cumming
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