Lombardo, legislators should take action for affordable prescription drugs • Nevada Current

If you noticed that your prescriptions seem to be costing more this year, you might not be imagining it.

In January, pharmaceutical companies raised the prices for more than 500 prescription drugs. That must have been good news for Big Pharma CEOs, their shareholders and the insurance middlemen who benefit from putting profits over patients. As a physician concerned about my patients’ ability to afford their prescription drugs, these higher costs have me incredibly worried. 

The news is particularly concerning because just last year, Gov. Joe Lombardo had an opportunity to help Nevadans, to stop the price gouging of prescription drugs, but instead he sided with the billion-dollar pharmaceutical industry. In June 2023, the Legislature passed Assembly Bill 250, which would have capped the costs of many prescription drugs at Medicare rates and saved Nevada families thousands of dollars, regardless of their age. But, Lombardo vetoed it.

AB 250 would be especially relevant now that Medicare is preparing to negotiate lower costs for some of the most expensive and commonly used drugs used to treat chronic conditions ranging from heart diseases and diabetes to arthritis, Crohn’s and leukemia. If Lombardo had signed AB 250 into law, all Nevadans would have benefited from these negotiated rates – not just those over 65. In the process of having increased access to medication, many Nevadans could live a healthier lifestyle, manage chronic conditions, feel good enough to go back to work, care for their families and loved ones and actively participate in their communities – improving the overall health of our state.

In my practice, I’ve met too many people who’ve had to skip their medications and split pills to stretch their supply as a way to save money. I’ve cared for people with heart diseases who’ve been forced to choose between getting a prescription filled and paying the rent. In Nevada, where heart disease is the leading cause of death, patients who don’t take their medications as prescribed are effectively gambling with their lives and more often than not, the “house” (Big Pharma) wins. And physicians and health professionals know all too well that astronomically expensive medications for complex diseases like cancer can send families into financial ruin.

Nearly half of all Nevadans have multiple chronic conditions. Nevada has a higher rate of uninsured people compared with the national average. One in 3 Nevadans can’t afford to fill a prescription. It doesn’t take a physician to know that medications don’t work if people cannot access them.

As a result of the prescription drug affordability challenge we face in Nevada, more and more physicians like me are speaking up and calling on policymakers to provide relief through proposals such as AB 250.

In 2023, Lombardo was especially quick to veto proposals that provide health care relief to Nevadans, in order to protect the profits of drug and insurance corporations. The news of more price hikes last month on 500 drugs should be a wake-up call of how dangerous that veto is for Nevada families. As more people suffer because they cannot access their vital medications, we know who to thank, Big Pharma and the politicians like Gov. Lombardo who support them putting profits over patients.

The governor can help grant patients who rely on prescription drugs some relief, by reexamining his position of protecting drug companies’ profits instead of helping Nevada families secure affordable medicines. Life saving medications must be protected under price limits, I am calling on Gov. Lombardo to step up for Nevada and put people first.