Dear editor,

Congress should pass the bipartisan Ensuring Pathways to Innovative Cures (EPIC) Act (HR 1492) and help fix a glaring flaw of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), creating new access issues for patients and undermining the development of innovative treatments and cures. I hope our leaders in Washington will help support and pass the EPIC Act without delay and focus on better ways to protect patients from high prescription and medical costs.

The IRA enforces price-setting policies on medications that come in the most recognizable, convenient, and cost-effective form of treatment–pills–years before other kinds of treatments, such as injections or IV infusions. As a retired healthcare professional, I know how severe the consequences can be when government gets too involved in patients’ care. In this case, it threatens the critical research and investment needed to develop the next generation of treatments, and hopefully, cures.

Meanwhile, patients are seemingly at the whim of hospitals that can overcharge them for basic medical care, often hitting them with enormous bills in the mail weeks after they receive treatment. Between that and the insurer-owned Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) that make it their business to restrict or control prescription drug access and inflate prescription drug costs, patients don’t have any hope unless Congress acts.

I urge Iowa’s congressional delegation to sign onto the EPIC Act as soon as possible and then work to address these more pressing issues.

Kelley Koch, RN, BSN, MS

Healthcare Professional