American Gastroenterological Association Joins Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing

American Gastroenterological Association
Joins Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing

The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) announced today that it has joined the Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing (CSRxP), a broad-based campaign working to curb rising drug costs. AGA, which has 16,000 members involved in all aspects of gastroenterology around the globe, adds its voice to the hospitals, physicians, pharmacists, nurses, health plans, patients, and employers already promoting CSRxP’s solutions of transparency, competition, and value in the prescription drug market.

“Gastroenterologists have a unique view of rising drug prices because the patients they treat are subjected to some of the most expensive medications on the market,” said CSRxP Executive Director John Rother, noting pricey hepatitis C medications, injectables, and other specialty drugs that often force patients to delay or forgo treatment because of cost. “The AGA’s voice is a welcome addition to our diverse campaign as we call on policymakers to increase transparency, competition, and value in the prescription drug market.”

Said Timothy C. Wang, MD, AGAF, president AGA Institute, “Given that some of the most expensive drugs on the market are drugs that treat GI and hepatology diseases, I believe it is important that AGA be part of the dialogue addressing drug costs. These treatments have been revolutionary and lifesaving, but we need to ensure that all patients have access to the right treatments and are not prevented from receiving the proper therapy because of cost. AGA looks forward to working with the coalition and policymakers on finding common sense solutions to address the growing problem of drug prices.”

Prices for specialty drugs, which require special handling, administration, or monitoring, are one of the largest drivers of increased health care costs, even for those who do not use medication. Today, prescription drug expenditures are nearly 20 percent of health care costs and prescription spending is growing faster than any other part of the health care dollar, according to data from IMS and MedPac. Additionally, IMS found that spending on specialty medicines has increased by $54 billion over the past five years, accounting for 73 percent of all medicine spending growth.

About the Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing: The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing (CSRxP) is a project of the National Coalition on Health Care Action Fund. We are a nonpartisan coalition of organizations informing the debate on drug pricing and finding bipartisan, market-based solutions to lower drug prices in the United States. Members represent hospitals, physicians, nurses, consumers, health plans, pharmacists, and employers. For more information, please visit www.CSRxP.org and follow CSRxP on Twitter.

About the AGA Institute: The American Gastroenterological Association is the trusted voice of the GI community. Founded in 1897, the AGA has grown to more than 16,000 members from around the globe who are involved in all aspects of the science, practice and advancement of gastroenterology. The AGA Institute administers the practice, research and educational programs of the organization. www.gastro.org. Like AGA on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @AmerGastroAssn.