Due to inclement weather, this event has been postponed.
Prescription drug prices are too high and rising fast. In 2014, retail prescription drug spending increased more than 12 percent, driving up the overall rate of health care-cost growth. With about half of all Americans—and 90 percent of seniors—taking a prescription drug in any given month, this growing crisis is not sustainable. For months now, public opinion polls have shown that consumers, regardless of their political affiliations, are demanding reforms that lower drug prices. Although medications help millions of patients every year, not all drugs offer the same value. Too often, patients and insurers pay exorbitant prices for their medications, even for products that are no more effective than the cheaper options. In September, the Center for American Progress released a set of integrated reforms that challenged lawmakers and public officials to make halting the rising cost of prescription drugs and paying for medications’ value a priority for the year ahead.
Please join the Center for American Progress for a conversation with leading experts to discuss this crucial issue and to consider policy options to lower costs for consumers, improve transparency in the pharmaceutical industry, and ensure that drug prices reflect their benefits to patients.
Introductory Remarks:
Topher Spiro, Vice President for Health Policy, Center for American Progress
Featured Keynote:
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Member of Congress, Texas’ 35th District
Featured Panelists:
Dr. Peter B. Bach, Director, Center for Health Policy and Outcomes, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Dr. Steve Miller, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Express Scripts
Dr. Steven D. Pearson, Founder and President, Institute for Clinical and Economic Review
Dr. Debra Whitman, Chief Public Policy Officer, AARP
Moderated by:
Dr. Zeke Emanuel, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress