Before I became an activist, I was patient. I was a woman who suffered from constant intense pain and was incapacitated due to the complications of a chronic condition called multiple sclerosis, a disease of which I knew very little, including where to go for help, and the main reason for which I founded United Family.
Today, I am no longer incapacitated nor do I have a debilitating ailment. I walk helplessly and can live a full life with my United Family community, but it shouldn’t be an exception.
United Family members, as well as my husband, suffer from health conditions that would benefit from the innovative treatments offered by specialist providers. That’s why I oppose HR3, wrong federal legislation that would damage California’s innovation ecosystem and threaten patients ’access to much-needed treatments, particularly for older adults and patients living with chronic and other illnesses. impediments.
In countries that have implemented price controls similar to those of HR3, patients have faced significant access restrictions and delays in new treatments.
For example, there is an average lapse of 18 months between the time cancer treatments are available in the US. UU., Compared to other developed countries. And countries with government-determined price controls have fewer treatment options available. While nearly 90% of new drugs launched between 2011 and 2018 are available in the US. In the US, only 59% are available in the UK, 50% in France and 36% in Australia.
What is equally troubling is how in many of these countries, prices are generally based on value estimates that largely discriminate against the most needy patients, such as those with chronic illnesses, rare diseases, color communities, and Medicare beneficiaries. .
This is such an important issue for me that I created the Your Voice Your Value program in 2020 to tackle the dangerous practice of value estimates and imagine a future in which people are not defined by the prices of their treatments.
It is critical that public policy makers seek solutions to reduce health care costs. Congress should avoid any proposal that limits patient development and access to new innovative treatments. As a result of VOCID-19, it is particularly irresponsible to support policies that stifle fundamental innovations and harm the quality of life of all Californians.
Irma Resendez is the executive director and founder of Los Angeles-based United Family Living with MS.