AMA Launches Campaign to Hear Patient Stories About Drug Prices

CHICAGO — The American Medical Assoc. (AMA) launched a website that aims to bring much-needed transparency to skyrocketing prescription-drug prices.

TruthInRx.org is an interactive site that gives consumers an opportunity to tell their stories of how rising prices are affecting their health and their pocketbooks. The site will be home to a gallery of curated videos and testimonials. It also will give supporters ways to take action, such as sending a message to Congress and sharing content within their social networks.

Prescription-drug pricing has been a consistent concern for patients and their physicians, with a 20{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} increase in out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs from 2013 to 2015. This has caught the bipartisan attention of Congress, highlighted by the recent 400{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} price increase for life-saving EpiPens — an increase that came without any justification, the AMA argues.

“Physicians strive to provide the best possible care to their patients, but increases in drug prices — without explanation — can affect their ability to offer patients the best possible drug treatments. A little sunlight will help patients navigate the world of capricious pricing that is putting some medications out of reach,” said AMA President Dr. Andrew Gurman.

This election year, prescription-drug pricing has been one of the few issues to unite both parties. Consumers are seeing the prices of their medications, often with no change to the ingredients, increase dramatically. Since there is little information on pricing negotiations or the role of industry players – including pharmaceutical manufacturers, pharmacy benefit managers, and health insurers — the AMA is asking the public to join its initiative to uncover the truth about prescription-drug prices.

Consumers can visit TruthInRx.org to add their voice and tell their story.