WASHINGTON — The pharmaceutical industry has opposed most of Hillary Clinton’s proposals to bring down drug costs, but there’s one idea its chief lobbyist supports: limiting the amount that consumers have to pay out of their own pockets.
In an interview with STAT, Stephen Ubl, president and chief executive officer of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the main trade group for drug companies, singled out the proposal when asked whether there were any positive ideas in the Democratic presidential front-runner’s drug prices plan.
“I would say one thing that she has proposed that we would favor is capping out-of-pocket costs,” Ubl said. “I think we have to acknowledge that some patients do face challenges in accessing their medicines.” In the past, he said, people were only charged modest copayments for their share of prescription drugs. But “in recent years, we’ve seen the insurance market shift,” he said, and people are being required to pay more of their share of all health care expenses.
