March 11, 2020 Press Releases

NEW VIDEO: Patient Advocate With $155k Drug Tab Raises Voice to Lower Drug Prices

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Patients For Affordable Drugs continues to elevate the voices of patients leading the fight to lower drug prices. This week, the organization will release its latest new video, “Savanna’s Story,” highlighting the $155,000 per year price the Texas college student faces.

Watch the video here.
Braun is a college student, Texan, and a patient with multiple chronic conditions, including allergic asthma and psoriatic arthritis. She is one of many P4AD patient advocates from across the country who are calling for reforms to fix the broken drug pricing system. With P4AD in the past few months, Braun visited with lawmakers in Washington, D.C. and Texas to explain how drug prices have impacted her –– and pushed them to take legislative action to help Americans like her.

As she explains in the video:

“I’m here [in Washington] advocating for lower drug prices. But I shouldn’t have to. My elected officials should be fighting for me. Doing their jobs, and they’re not.”
Patients For Affordable Drugs has collected more than 22,000 stories from Americans across the country struggling to afford prescription drugs.

“Our organization works to elevate the voices of patients suffering under crushing prices for essential medications,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs. “When people like Savanna are empowered to speak out against widespread abuse of patients and taxpayers by drug corporations, lawmakers are called to action. The system is rigged — and together we are going to fix it.”

Patients For Affordable Drugs is the only independent national patient organization focused exclusively on achieving policy changes to lower the price of prescription drugs. Patients For Affordable Drugs does not accept contributions from any organizations that profit from the development or distribution of prescription drugs.

TRANSCRIPT, “SAVANNA’S STORY”

When I got really sick and I got my diagnosis finally
It was a relief. And then
I get these medication costs, and I am horrified.
All of my medications combined, it’s around $155,000 a year.

Savanna lives with several chronic illnesses
Including psoriatic arthritis, severe allergic asthma & corneal dystrophy.

This $155,000 a year,
I just don’t think about it, because if I think about it, I panic.
And it’s not something that I can actually run away from.
It’s there. It’s always going to be there.
Until something is done about it.
I’m here advocating for lower drug prices,
But I shouldn’t have to.
My elected officials should be fighting for me,
Doing their jobs, and they’re not.
And pharmaceutical companies, they should be more transparent
About their drug pricing.
Why are they taking advantage of people
Who don’t have other options? Who can’t help themselves?
And they don’t tell us why.
We deserve to know why.
I’ve really enjoyed working with Patients For Affordable Drugs.
And it’s become a really amazing way for me
To take some power back.
Because, often times, when you’re sick, you feel helpless.
And now, I’m feeling empowered as a patient
To use my story and effect real change.

Join Savanna in the fight to lower drug prices.

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March 11, 2020 Press Releases

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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.