Interview: Billy Tauzin, president and CEO of PhRMA

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-789359661062727522.post-66881728765301530402007-10-15T17:38:00.000-04:002007-10-16T16:37:37.658-04:00Interview: Billy Tauzin, president and CEO of PhRMA"Our industry is committed to helping build a healthier future for all Americans." <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blogs.webmd.com/election-2008-expert-view/uploaded_images/Billy-Tauzin-789152.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://blogs.webmd.com/election-2008-expert-view/uploaded_images/Billy-Tauzin-788068.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Billy Tauzin was named president and chief executive officer of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) in January 2005, after serving 13 terms as a congressman from Louisiana. Originally elected to the U.S. House in 1980 as a Democrat, his conservative views increasingly led him to vote with GOP House members, so despite his Democratic affiliation, he switched parties in 1995. Later, as chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, he helped President George W. Bush win passage of a Medicare prescription drug bill. Tauzin received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Nicholls State University in 1964 and a Law Degree from Louisiana State University in 1967. Answers from Tauzin on the state of the nation's health care and how the election might affect it were provided to WebMD's Washington correspondent, <a style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);" href="http://www.webmd.com/todd-zwillich">Todd Zwillich</a>. How big an issue is health care for the nation now? Access to quality health care -- including new, potentially life-saving medicines -- is an issue of tremendous importance for all Americans. Every patient, no matter what age, should have access to the medicines and health services they need to prevent, cure and treat disease. Today, prescription medicines play an increasingly critical role in health care in the United States. Medicines have been shown to reduce health care costs, hospital stays and the need for expensive, invasive surgeries. Most significantly, prescription medicines help patients live longer, healthier, more productive lives. As the population ages and the prevalence of chronic diseases rises, the availability of innovative medicines will be all the more important to help improve health and prevent disease. And at the heart of these ongoing efforts to develop and make available new medicines and health care technologies is one overarching priority: the individual patient. We are in the midst of a medical revolution that is transforming health care in America and beyond to focus on the medical needs of each patient. Recognizing the central role that medicines play in this process, America's pharmaceutical research companies are committed to meet patients' needs through expanded access to new medicines, enhancing drug safety, inspiring biopharmaceutical innovation, building partnerships with physicians and patients, and educating the public on the value of medicines in health care. Is the health care system really broken? Americans are fortunate to have one of the best health care systems in the world -- a system that offers access and choice to a wide array of innovative medicines and medical technologies. However, most people would agree that we can do even better. As a nation, we need to solve the problem of the uninsured; simply put, every American should have access to quality health care. We must do more to prevent -- and raise awareness of -- chronic disease. And we must deal with the rising cost of health care. These challenges are great, but so is our resolve. Collectively, we must address the issues before us through innovative, market-based solutions that meet the individual needs of patients. The success of the Medicare prescription drug benefit illustrates how policymakers, federal agencies and the private sector can work together to solve a difficult health care problem. Over 90% of seniors now have prescription drug coverage. And as a result of the competitive market system, the program is keeping prices down and saving money for patients and taxpayers alike. America's pharmaceutical research companies share a goal to provide the right medicine to the right patient at the right time. This means treating every patient as an individual, making sure that patients have access to a wide range of treatment options and preserving incentives to foster continued innovation of medicines and medical technologies. Medicines will play a critical role as we work with other stakeholders to improve an already sound health care system. Our industry is committed to helping build a healthier future for all Americans. How--or should--we go about lowering the number of uninsured? Good health insurance coverage is essential to the health care and well-being of all Americans. Yet, unfortunately, far too many patients throughout America are either uninsured or underinsured and are not getting the quality health care they need and deserve. This is a problem that must be addressed because with good coverage, we can prevent and more effectively manage an array of chronic medical conditions, which account for 75% of all health care costs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Meaningful strides have been made in recent years to help patients in need. As a result of <a style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);" href="http://www.webmd.com/election2008/issues101-3#part_d">Medicare Part D</a>, over 39 million seniors and disabled Americans now have comprehensive prescription drug coverage. Those enrolled in Part D are saving, on average, $1,200 a year on their drug costs. Today, over 90% of seniors now have prescription drug coverage. America's pharmaceutical research companies also are playing a critical role in helping improve patient access to medicines through the Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA), a clearinghouse of information about patient assistance programs. In just two years, the program has helped more than four million Americans across the country find programs that provide free or nearly prescription medicines. In addition, America's pharmaceutical research companies support the reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (<a style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);" href="http://www.webmd.com/election2008/issues101-3#schip">SCHIP</a>) to ensure that children have access to health coverage, including those low-income children who are eligible, but not enrolled in SCHIP or Medicaid. SCHIP has helped more than six million low-income children last year alone get the health care they need, and the program must be reauthorized in a timely manner to assure the program can continue to meet the health care needs of low-income children. What is the best way to begin to lower health care costs? The best chance to address any problem is to confront its root cause. In the case of health care costs in the U.S., this means reducing the prevalence of chronic disease. Chronic diseases such as <a style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);" href="http://www.webmd.com/cancer/">cancer</a>, <a style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);" href="http://diabetes.webmd.com/">diabetes</a> and <a style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);" href="http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/default.htm">heart disease</a> account for seven out of 10 deaths and 75% of health care spending in America today, according to the CDC. In fact, recent research shows that about two-thirds of the increase in health care spending over the past 20 years is due to the rise of prevalence of treatable chronic disease, and nearly 30% of that increase is related to the doubling of obesity since 1987 alone. Yet, many chronic conditions and illnesses are preventable or manageable with proper care, treatment and appropriate lifestyle/behavioral changes. Expanding access to new medicines through programs such as Medicare Part D and the Partnership for Prescription Assistance has made a significant difference for millions of people, but there are many more patients who need help to get the medicines they need. All of us with a stake in Americans' health -- providers, innovative research companies, the government, employers and individual patients -- need to do a better job of coordinating care, and preventing and managing chronic diseases. With this goal in mind, PhRMA is a proud partner in the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, a national, bipartisan coalition of health care experts and stakeholders from across the country dedicated to fighting the number one driver of rising health costs: preventable chronic disease. What should be done to cut prescription drug costs? According to the most recent data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), spending for prescription medicines accounted for less than 1/10th of the overall growth in health care costs in 2005. Importantly, the focus should not be on the price of medicines, but rather the value they deliver -- both to the individual patient and the overall health care system. Although spending on prescription drugs has increased along with use, medicines comprise only a small share of total health spending -- about 10 cents of every health care dollar spent in 2005, according to CMS . At the same time, the availability of innovative medicines is playing an increasingly prominent role in controlling health care costs. Appropriate use of prescription drugs saves money by reducing the need for lengthy hospitalizations and costly surgeries. In addition, medicines have been shown to help strengthen the economy by enabling workers to return to their jobs sooner after an illness and improving productivity. Developing a new drug is a long, complex and costly process, and as a result, some medicines can indeed be expensive. However, a potentially lifesaving medicine does no one any good if it sits on a pharmacy shelf. That's why America's pharmaceutical research companies created and continue to sponsor the Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA). As an industry, we are committed to helping ensure that safe and effective medicines are available to all patients in need. How important is prevention to any health care policy we pursue? Prevention is critically important to any health care policy we pursue in America. As noted earlier, 75% of health care spending in the U.S. is related to chronic diseases -- such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease and <a style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);" href="http://www.webmd.com/asthma/default.htm">asthma</a> -- many of which can be prevented. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that eliminating three risk factors -- <a style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);" href="http://www.webmd.com/diet/default.htm">poor diet</a>, inactivity and <a style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);" href="http://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/quitting-tobacco-use-overview">smoking</a> -- would prevent 80% of heart disease and stroke, 80% of Type 2 diabetes, and 40% of cancer. Right now, the U.S. health care system does not adequately support prevention but instead focuses on treating incidence of disease only after a patient is sick. Health care policy can and should better support efforts that improve prevention by offering incentives to health providers who offer quality preventive care to patients and by promoting a more integrated care system in which providers are more actively engaged with their patients at regular intervals. Additionally, health care policy should encourage individuals to be more proactive by offering tools, incentives, and education to help Americans prevent, detect and manage chronic disease. Efforts such as the bipartisan Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, which aims to raise awareness of policies that foster more effective prevention and management of chronic disease, is a promising step in the right direction. Expanding access to medicines also is vitally important. America's pharmaceutical research companies lead the world in researching and developing new, innovative treatments to fight disease and help patients stay healthy, but they also are fully committed to helping ensure that all patients -- no matter their financial status --have access to the medicines they need, when they need them.Sean_webmdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08822854321530764848noreply@blogger.com