AMA sharpens policy to promote reasonable drug prices

SAN DIEGO — Arbitration in determining prescription drug prices is a viable mechanism to address the burden of high and escalating pharmaceutical prices in the U.S. market, according to policy adopted by the nation’s physicians at the Interim Meeting of the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates. The new policy establishes principles to guide the AMA’s support for the use of arbitration in determining prescription drug prices, and builds upon existing AMA policy in favor of drug price negotiation as an alternative to price controls.

“As prescription drug prices have spiked, the AMA has strongly advocated for more competition and transparency in the pharmaceutical marketplace to protect patients,” said AMA President Patrice A. Harris, M.D., M.A. “There are situations in which payers have weakened bargaining power to negotiate lower drug prices due to a drug’s lack of competition in the marketplace, which means patients are left with high out-of-pocket costs and questioning whether they will be able to afford the medications they need. Physicians decided that additional AMA policy was needed to guide advocacy efforts on the use of arbitration and other innovative proposals to promote reasonable drug pricing.”