It’s Time to Put Patients First

This year marks the fifth year that Let My Doctors Decide and the Autoimmune Association have been at the forefront of efforts to Put Patients First and support meaningful reforms that prevent patients from accessing medicines and treatments prescribed by healthcare professionals.

Barriers to accessing medicines and treatments, coupled with rising out-of-pocket costs, continue to have a detrimental effect on our healthcare system. Higher costs for patients, avoidable health deterioration, and further delays for critical care and wellness stand in the way of better health for patients and interfere with the doctor/patient relationship. Often times, middlemen – Pharmacy Benefit Managers – PBMs – intervene with the doctor-patient relationship, creating more barriers to much-needed medicines and treatments. Just last month, the Federal Trade Commission delayed a study of PBM practices. A study is long overdue, and we encourage the FTC to examine harmful middlemen practices to ensure patients can access doctor-recommended medicines and treatments.

Convincing policymakers, regulators, employers, and other decision makers to address these issues requires a sustained effort to consistently illustrate that these harmful barriers are preventable, costly, unnecessary, and - above all - fixable. Since its launch in 2017, Let My Doctors Decide has expanded its reach and collective voice in representing patients, the autoimmune community, providers, and advocates.

This year’s efforts are designed to achieve meaningful reforms and strongly encourage the adoption of straightforward principles that address the barriers that prevent patients and doctors from making treatment decisions. This includes changes at the national and state levels that improve benefit design and ensure coverage that empowers provider decision-making, promotes access and adherence, and addresses affordability.

Click here to find out more about LMDD Patients Principles and Call to Action. Join us in our campaign to Put Patients First.