AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) President and CEO David J. Skorton, MD, issued the following statement on the House passage of H.R.3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019:
“As Americans struggle with the impact of high prescription drug prices on their physical and financial health, the nation’s teaching hospitals continue to care for increasing number of patients who are unable to afford their medications. This may lead patients to neglect drug regimens, leaving them with inadequate treatment that may result in worse outcomes.
We applaud efforts by the House of Representatives to address this problem impacting Americans. This step builds upon the previous efforts of the House Energy & Commerce, Ways & Means, Education & Labor, and Senate Finance Committees. We urge congressional leaders and all members of Congress to work together to develop a bipartisan solution to high prescription drug prices for the benefit of our patients.”
The Association of American Medical Colleges is a not-for-profit association dedicated to transforming health care through innovative medical education, cutting-edge patient care, and groundbreaking medical research. Its members comprise all 154 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools; nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 51 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and more than 80 academic societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC serves the leaders of America’s medical schools and teaching hospitals and their 173,000 faculty members, 89,000 medical students, 129,000 resident physicians, and more than 60,000 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in the biomedical sciences. Additional information about the AAMC and its member medical schools and teaching hospitals is available at www.aamc.org.