Shaheen Calls on Administration to Take Immediate Action to Reduce Price of Life-Saving Opioid Overdose Reversal Drug Naloxone
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) joined Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and a group of 14 other Senators today to call on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to take immediate action to reduce the price of naloxone, a life-saving opioid overdose reversal drug. The Senators’ letter follows a recent national advisory issued by the United States Surgeon General urging more Americans to carry naloxone and learn how to use naloxone delivery devices.
“No police officer, no firefighter, no public health provider, and no person should be unable to save a life because of the high price,” wrote the Senators. “By bringing down the cost, we can get this life-saving drug in the hands of more people as called for by the Surgeon General. Doing so will save countless lives.”
“The Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis recommended empowering the HHS Secretary to negotiate reduced pricing, and in October 2017 19 Senators wrote in support of this policy,” the Senators continued. “To date, no such action has been taken by HHS. We urge HHS to immediately negotiate a lower price for easy to administer naloxone combination products. In addition, we ask you to ensure affordable coverage for individuals with health insurance, including Medicare, Medicaid, and individual and employer sponsored plans.”
Senator Shaheen, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the lead Democrat of the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Subcommittee, has led efforts in Congress to respond to the opioid crisis. As a result of her advocacy on the bipartisan Common Sense Caucus and her engagement during the writing of the funding bill that was recently signed into law, Senator Shaheen helped secure the $3.3 billion in additional resources to combat the opioid epidemic. Just yesterday, Senator Shaheen announced that she is a cosponsor of the Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018, a bipartisan bill that contains key priorities Shaheen has championed, including an extension of NASPER, the prescription drug monitoring program, and specifically dedicated funding to states with the highest mortality rates from drug overdoses. New Hampshire currently has the third highest drug overdose death rate in the nation. Senator Shaheen has also introduced bipartisan legislation that would change how federal agencies determine State Targeted Response Opioid Crisis Grant funding to prioritize states with the highest mortality rates.
U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Tina Smith (D-MN), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Angus King (I-ME), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Gary Peters (D-MI) also signed the letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar.
The full text of the letter may be found below.
April 18, 2018
The Honorable Alex Azar
Secretary
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
Dear Secretary Azar:
We write to ask the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to take immediate action to increase access and reduce the price of naloxone auto-injectors and nasal sprays; life-saving opioid overdose reversal products. We believe that every individual, municipality, and entity that wants to equip themselves with these products should be able to afford to.
The opioid epidemic claimed the lives of 42,249 Americans in 2016 – about 115 Americans every day. Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death for Americans under 50, exceeding the peak car crash and H.I.V. deaths. Unfortunately, despite the progress health care providers, first responders, state governments, and others have made in fighting the epidemic, data from the CDC suggests that the problem is still getting worse, as there were more than 45,000 deaths from August 2017 to August 2018.
As you know, United States Surgeon General Dr. Jerome M. Adams issued a national advisory urging more Americans to keep on hand and learn how to use naloxone delivery devices. He states that, “increasing the availability and targeted distribution of naloxone is a critical component of our efforts to reduce opioid-related overdose deaths and, when combined with the availability of effective treatment, to ending the opioid epidemic.” We strongly agree.
Unfortunately, despite being approved by the FDA more than 45 years ago, the price of naloxone has increased dramatically during the epidemic. The prices of the two user-friendly devices that can be administered outside of a health care setting are the highest. Narcan, which delivers naloxone as a nasal spray, costs $150 for a two pack and Evzio, a hand-held auto-injector, increased in price from $690 in 2014 to more than $4,000 today for a two pack.
Such high prices are already leaving local fire, police, and health departments struggling to afford naloxone, and many Americans will want to follow the Surgeon General’s advisory only to realize they are unable to afford the drug that could save their own life or the life of someone they know. The Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis recommended empowering the HHS Secretary to negotiate reduced pricing, and in October 2017 19 Senators wrote in support of this policy. To date, no such action has been taken by HHS. We urge HHS to immediately negotiate a lower price for easy to administer naloxone combination products. In addition, we ask you to ensure affordable coverage for individuals with health insurance, including Medicare, Medicaid, and individual and employer sponsored plans.
No police officer, no firefighter, no public health provider, and no person should be unable to save a life because of the high price. By bringing down the cost, we can get this life-saving drug in the hands of more people as called for by the Surgeon General. Doing so will save countless lives.
