Chrissy Buteas, President and CEO of the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey, issued a statement regarding the Department of Health and Human Services' recent announcement on government-imposed price controls for medicines. The statement addresses concerns over the second round of price controls under the Inflation Reduction Act.
Buteas stated, "There are smart and efficient ways to lower health care costs with immediate savings for patients, but government price-setting is not one of them. These artificial price controls do not consider the extraordinarily expensive and risky efforts – most of which fail after spending billions of dollars – to cure diseases and keep people alive." She also highlighted that these measures overlook other cost-driving factors in the supply chain, such as pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which have been scrutinized by the Federal Trade Commission.
The statement expressed concern that this latest round of price controls could hinder innovation needed for researching new treatments. Buteas emphasized their commitment to collaborating with lawmakers to reduce healthcare costs without compromising medical advancements or affecting jobs in New Jersey's innovation economy.
"We remain committed to working with federal and state lawmakers on lowering health care costs for patients without jeopardizing the discovery of new, life-saving treatments and cures or threatening New Jersey jobs or our state’s innovation economy," Buteas continued. She noted past achievements in curing diseases like hepatitis C, developing vaccines against cervical cancer, creating treatments for sickle cell disease, delaying Alzheimer's onset, and responding to COVID-19.
Buteas concluded by affirming their dedication to working with stakeholders on policies that support both patient needs and medical innovation.
