Southern West Virginia News

WASHINGTON, D.C. - On May 10, 2023, Congresswoman Carol Miller (R-WV) joined the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee to discuss policies that have created barriers for patients in rural areas who need access to quality health care treatments. Congresswoman Miller highlighted difficulties West Virginians are experiencing and the hinderance that comes from the Inflation Reduction Act on medical research.

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 On Access to New Medical Innovations in Rural America:“From a state of 1.7 million people, West Virginians has 39,000 people living with Alzheimer’s disease. Patients that live in the mountainous, rural communities of West Virginia face significant barriers to accessing primary health care, let alone specialized clinical trials… Mr. Gonzales, you touched on the difficulty of having to travel long distances to access tests and studies. Can you tell us more about the difficulties patients face in their ability to participate in these trials?" asked Congresswoman Miller.

"It's extremely difficult," said Mr. Gonzalez.

Congresswoman Miller pivoted to oncology centers in rural America.

 “Smaller medical providers, including oncology centers in rural areas, typically operate on a very slim margins. Don’t you think that this attempt to slow reimbursement of accelerated approved drugs will have a disproportionate impact on these rural providers — and therefore patients?” asked Congresswoman Miller.

"It's amazing that the consolidation, that impact federal policy already has had on independent providers and that consolidation especially in rural areas. So what happens? They close the doors and the patients don't have access. And the problem is specifically with this one model is that it puts providers as hostages, in the middle between government and the drug company. If a product doesn't have one clinical trial for one indication and they haven't done it properly, they're going to knock down reimbursement. When you knock down reimbursement, we have seen this - history has demonstrated it, you not only have at cancer clinics, but at other providers that close. As a result, who suffers the most? Patients in rural areas," said Mr. Okon.

On the Inflation Reduction Act Hindering Cancer Research:

"Due to the Inflation Reduction Act, drug companies will probably not invest in expanded indication research anytime when a drug will be the target of government “negotiation.” Therefore, this law will certainly limit research and development for new indications and uses of a drug. What impacts does this have on patients, specifically cancer patients?” asked Congresswoman Miller. "That's the problem, is we talk about drugs as if they're the same. Whereas with cancer drugs you talk about different indications developed over the life cycle of the drug. We have a problem with high costs of drugs, but the problem is as you get closer to this negotiation, you would not put funds forward to study new indication, especially indications that deal with pediatric cancer. So you have a real problem in terms of the nature of drugs and life cycle development," said Mr. Okon.

Witnesses:

Tony Gonzales, Alzheimer’s Association National Early-Stage AdvisorTed Okon, Executive Director, Community Oncology AllianceDarius Lakdawala, Professor of Pharmaceutical Economics and Public Policy, USC Schaffer CenterDr. Joshua Makower, M.D., Director of the Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign, Stanford UniversityArron Kesselheim, M.D., J.D., Professor of Medicine, Harvard University

Original source can be found here.