By: State Rep. Patrick Kearney
Every elected official knows the cost-of-living crisis is squeezing Massachusetts families. The conversation usually focuses on housing, energy, and grocery prices. Healthcare, especially the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs, is often left out of the discussion despite being one of the most painful drivers of rising costs.
Americans pay dramatically more for prescription drugs than patients in other wealthy countries. Research by the independent, nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation shows that patients in the United States routinely pay twice as much for the medication compared to other wealthy countries.
Higher drug prices are more than a statistic. They mean retirees' prescription costs consume more of their fixed income every year; single parents stretch their paycheck to cover a child’s asthma medication; and small business owners see soaring health insurance premiums because of rising pharmaceutical costs.
Thankfully, Massachusetts benefits from a federal program that makes prescription drug prices more affordable. The program is known as 340B and it requires pharmaceutical companies to sell outpatient prescription drugs at a discount to safety net healthcare providers, including rural hospitals and smaller hospitals like South Shore Hospital. It also benefits the Community Health Centers that serve over one million patients every year.
These smaller hospitals and safety net providers are more important than ever now that Donald Trump’s sweeping fiscal legislation — the egregiously misnamed One Big Beautiful Bill — slashed federal Medicaid spending and, according to analysis from the Congressional Budget Office, will cause over 10 million Americans to lose insurance coverage. Smaller hospitals were already facing serious financial challenges. Healthcare costs have risen sharply since the pandemic. At the same time, reimbursement rates, especially from Medicare and Medicaid which smaller hospitals rely on heavily, have not kept pace. That’s why 340B is a win-win: patients get lower drug prices and vital healthcare providers have an easier time staying open.
Unfortunately, big pharmaceutical companies are lobbying to weaken the 340B program just when it’s needed the most. There’s an obvious reason why they want to damage this program: it encourages them to sell their medications to safety net health care providers at a discount. The drug companies get access to the lucrative Medicare and Medicaid markets in exchange for helping reduce prices and support smaller hospitals and safety net providers. This is a completely rational trade for these companies to make, but they aren’t satisfied with record profits and want to make even more money at the expense of patients and vital healthcare providers.
The program helps the most vulnerable people in their greatest time of need. Please join me in advocating for this program with our members of Congress. Healthcare is a fundamental right and the people we elect should do their part to people's basic healthcare needs. There is so much that divides us these days, but ensuring the preservation of a program that helps our friends and neighbors get access to medical care at zero cost to taxpayers is something everyone - besides the big drug companies - agrees is worth preserving.
Patrick Joseph Kearney represents the 4th Plymouth District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He serves on the House Committee on Ways and Means and is a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve.