From tolls to property taxes to beach badges, New Jersey residents already pay steep prices to live in one of the safest, most family-friendly, and diverse states in the nation. And despite the benefits, we can’t afford to have our elected officials passing legislation that would mandate high prescription drug costs. Yet, year after year, costs continue to skyrocket. According to recent research, the average annual cost of prescription drug treatment in New Jersey rose nearly 58 percent between 2012 and 2017.
But, it doesn’t have to be that way. New Jersey families need someone to advocate and fight for safe, affordable, and accessible prescription drugs, and New Jerseyans deserve to hear the truth about why costs are rising.
That’s where we come in.
Health care can be complicated, but we’re here to help make things simple. New Jerseyans for Affordable Rx exists to advocate for all New Jersey residents by educating policymakers and the public about the real reasons behind increasing prescription drug costs. Special interests, like big drug companies and the independent pharmacy lobby, point fingers and trade blame. So New Jerseyans for Affordable Rx stays focused on what our legislators in Trenton can do to reduce drug costs and put money back in the pockets of New Jerseyans.
Support Patient Advocates
Pharmacy Benefit Managers Advocate for Lower Rx Costs
One of the only actors in the drug care supply chain fighting to reduce Rx costs for patients are Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs). PBMs advocate on behalf of patients and payers to reduce prescription drug costs, expand access, and improve patient outcomes by:
Negotiating directly with drug companies for cost savings and rebates.
Working with job creators to ensure they find the right health care coverage and benefits for themselves and their employees.
Expanding home delivery, which is more efficient and convenient for patients.
PBMs help patients realize savings of over $900 per person per year, and are projected to save New Jersey patients almost $30 billion over the next 10 years.
Let’s Take a Closer Look at Big Drug Companies
Big Pharma Alone Sets the List Price of Prescription Drugs
While drug manufacturers play a vital role in developing new medications, big pharmaceutical companies will also do everything they can to squeeze every last penny out of patients to benefit their bottom line.
Big drug companies, and big drug companies alone, control the price of prescription drugs. And, more often than not, they choose to increase drug prices year after year and sometimes even twice a year. To kick off 2022, drug manufacturers hiked the price of over 400 medications by an average of about 5%. Even Purdue Pharma increased the price of its opioid OxyContin, which has become the poster drug of opioid abuse and unethical behavior by drug companies.
By January 4th, 2022, big drug companies had already hiked the price of over 400 medications!
Big Pharma also makes it more difficult for more affordable generics to come to market, manipulating the system in their favor to boost their profits. They spend this money on overhead, advertising, and aggressive lobbying campaigns to maintain high prices instead of on research and development.Let’s be clear: drug companies try to point fingers, but they alone set and raise drug prices year after year. It’s time for our legislators to take a stand and hold Big Pharma accountable once and for all.
