Letter To The Editor: Auchincloss Fighting for Big Pharma Or Us?

Brookline MA

19 July, 2021

1:19 PM

Description

BROOKLINE, MA — The following letter to the editor was submitted by Brookline resident Julie Johnson. I wish my Congressman cared about the high cost of medicines as much as he cares about repeating the excuses offered by his long list of donors from the pharmaceutical industry. Recently, I received a mailing from the Alliance for Patient Access asking me to contact my Congressman, Jake Auchincloss, to "Thank Him for Being a Champion of Patient Access" and to "Urge Him to Continue Fighting to Protect (My) Access to Medicare." I was puzzled. The Congressman just co-led a letter expressing concern about HR3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act. The mailer went on: Urge Congressman Auchincloss to oppose any measures that would limit new research and development or decrease access to new medications for American's seniors. This seemed like thinly veiled language for protecting the profits of drug companies (in recent days a new House report took aim at big pharma's bogus claims). I wondered: what is the Alliance for Patient Access? Who funds them? A quick search revealed that the Alliance is primarily funded by the pharmaceutical industry. And, I learned that Congressman Auchincloss and the others who signed the letter get huge money for their campaigns from that same industry. I had the opportunity to ask the Congressman some questions a few days later in Brookline. When I mentioned HR3, and said that excessive drug company profits contribute to high drug costs, he said he disagreed. He claimed that while he was a co-sponsor of HR3, the bill will not lower drug prices because it does not address Pharmacy Benefit Managers. I was still concerned about his apparent indifference to the excessive profits of drug companies and their role in high drug costs, and that an organization funded by folks getting rich from expensive prescriptions sent me mail singing his praises. When I politely asked how he was protecting my access to Medicare and why drug companies were doing so much to support him, he refused to answer, saying, "I didn't come here to be yelled at." Additional research revealed that passing the buck to Pharmacy Benefit Managers and insurance companies is a standard talking point for the pharmaceutical industry. Perhaps Congressman Auchincloss should spend more time listening to his constituents' concerns and less time sounding like a drug company CEO looking to keep profits high. Sincerely, Julie JohnsonRussell St.