Pew Discusses Drivers of Drug Spending Before Senate HELP Committee

Pew Discusses Drivers of Drug Spending Before Senate HELP Committee

On June 13, Allan Coukell, senior director of health programs for The Pew Charitable Trusts, testified at the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions’ hearing, “The Cost of Prescription Drugs: How the Drug Delivery System Affects What Patients Pay.” His remarks focused on the challenge of rising pharmaceutical costs; drivers of increased drug spending; and potential policy responses, such as increasing competition among existing drugs and generics and incorporating a drug’s value into insurance coverage and payment decisions.

Allan Coukell, senior director for health programs at The Pew Charitable Trusts, speaks with Senator Lamar Alexander before the Senate HELP Committee hosts a hearing on prescription drug costs on June 13, 2017.
Evelyn Hockstein Evelyn Hockstein for The Pew Charitable Trusts
Allan Coukell, senior director for health programs at The Pew Charitable Trusts, speaks with Senator Lamar Alexander before the Senate HELP Committee hosts a hearing on prescription drug costs on June 13, 2017.
Evelyn Hockstein Evelyn Hockstein for The Pew Charitable Trusts
Senator Bill Cassidy asks a question of the panel where Allan Coukell, senior director for health programs at The Pew Charitable Trusts, speaks before the Senate HELP Committee during a hearing on prescription drug costs on June 13, 2017.
Evelyn Hockstein Evelyn Hockstein for The Pew Charitable Trusts
Senator Al Franken listens to Allan Coukell, senior director for health programs at The Pew Charitable Trusts, during the Senate HELP Committee hearing on prescription drug costs on June 13, 2017.
Evelyn Hockstein Evelyn Hockstein for The Pew Charitable Trusts