Drug pricing bill has unintended consequences

Drug pricing is much in the news these days with the Senate Finance Committee rolling out proposed drug pricing legislation. One proposal coming out of Washington greatly concerns me and has been receiving greater attention as of late.

The International Pricing Index (IPI) model proposed by the Trump administration has been touted as an approach to tie U.S. drug prices to those in other developed countries. Unfortunately, this plan comes with many significant issues.

Personally, I have been the beneficiary of our country's leading medical advancements throughout my life. Since I was young I have battled serious heart ailments requiring ongoing treatments. While affordability and out-of-pocket costs are always key, equally important is fostering innovation, which will improve the quality of the therapies and medicines I depend on. Now in my late 20s, I understand how important access to the right treatment is for many others in similar situations.

Furthermore, this IPI model would rely on third-party middlemen to inject themselves into a physician's decision-making options, leading to lower reimbursements to practices and hospitals which would hurt clinics in Iowa.

I live in rural Iowa and we struggle as it is keeping our rural health care clinics operating and in business. I hope our leaders in D.C. reject this plan and work on more patient-focused solutions.

Joshua Harden

Lone Tree