April 20, 2017 Blogs

Letter to Maryland Governor Hogan

April 17, 2017

The Honorable Larry Hogan
Governor of Maryland
100 State Circle
Annapolis, MD, 21401

Dear Governor Hogan,

My name is David Mitchell. I live in Potomac, Maryland, and I have incurable blood cancer. First, I hope you are feeling well and healthy.

Most Tuesdays, I receive a drug cocktail priced at $20,000 per treatment. With 22 treatments this year, that’s $440,000 in drugs just to stay alive. I know you understand the pain of cancer from your own experience. I write to encourage you to sign HB 631, legislation that would begin to stem the tide of skyrocketing drug prices.

All over Maryland, people are struggling under crushing drug prices. That is why my wife – a breast cancer survivor – and I founded a small non-profit called Patients For Affordable Drugs. We’re working to amplify the voices of people struggling under out-of-control drug prices, and we do not accept contributions from any organizations that profit from the development or distribution of prescription drugs.

In just eight weeks, Patients For Affordable Drugs has collected scores of stories from people in Maryland struggling to afford prescription drugs. The cries for help come from every region, walk of life, and political affiliation. One woman from Odenton wrote, “Sometimes I have to decide to pay bills, eat, or get the prescription drugs I need to live.”

Hearing these voices, the legislature responded with bi-partisan action to give the Attorney General’s office the power to stop drug companies from price gouging.

On behalf of Patients For Affordable Drugs, I urge you to sign HB 631 and take a first step toward easing some financial pain facing Marylanders.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

David Mitchell,
Patients For Affordable Drugs Co-Founder and President

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Patients For Affordable Drugs is the only independent national patient organization focused exclusively on achieving policy changes to lower the price of prescription drugs.