Aimed Alliance Calls Presidential Forum on High Drug Prices Unnecessary

Administration Must Instead Focus on Exploitation and Profiteering by Insurers to Address Rising Health Care Costs

November 5, 2015 - Washington, D.C. – Trying to turn up the political heat on the pharmaceutical industry, the Obama administration announced on Tuesday that it would hold a forum this month on the high prices of some prescription drugs. However, the Alliance for the Adoption of Innovations in Medicine (Aimed Alliance), a not-for-profit organization working to improve health care in the United States, believes the forum is unneeded and misses the point.

"President Obama's forum on high drug prices is unnecessary," said Stacey L. Worthy, the Director of Public Policy for Aimed Alliance. "Protections are already in place to enforce against the handful of bad actors in the pharmaceutical industry. State Attorneys General simply need to step in and enforce those laws. Instead, the Administration should focus its attention on the industry-wide exploitation and profiteering of health care insurers. They are hiking prices and hiding profits to the detriment of patients who cannot afford their prescriptions."

Not-for-profit insurers have placed billions of dollars in financial reserves, well above the recommended amount, and paid exorbitant CEO compensation packages. They have then massively raised premiums-by 49 percent in some states-while simultaneously asking for billions of dollars in financial assistance from the federal government. This type of action is prevalent among the entire industry rather than simply a few offenders.

Aimed Alliance calls on the Obama Administration and Congress to focus on the health insurance industry-the true drivers of rising health care costs.

The Alliance for the Adoption of Innovations in Medicine (Aimed Alliance) is a tax-exempt, not-for-profit organization that seeks to improve health care in the United States by supporting the development and utilization of novel, evidence-based treatments. For more information, visit www.AimedAlliance.org and follow @AdoptInnovation on Twitter.

For more information or to schedule an interview with Stacey Worthy, please contact Ryan Hughes with Shirley & Banister Public Affairs at rhughes@sbpublicaffairs.com, (703) 739-5920 or (800) 536-5920.