DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Media Iowa State Capitol Bureau) — An Iowa cancer patient says his medication costs far more here than it does overseas, and he wants answers from whoever becomes governor.
David Lord is spending $5,000 for his cancer treatment medication. It’s what’s bringing him to the polls this November, hoping Iowa’s next elected officials can help lower his and many other Iowans’ costs.
“Why can they charge one amount in one country and so much more here,” Lord said.
Candidates respond
Both candidates for Iowa governor have made healthcare one of their key priorities.
Democrat Rob Sand points to his “Affordability for All” plan. It calls for a state board to negotiate lower drug prices, and a crackdown on what he calls price gouging by pharmaceutical companies and pharmacy benefit managers.
“We need to be saying that customers deserve to have choices. But you can’t just contract with a pharmacy that you own when you’re the PBM that owns the pharmacy. Because that’s not competition. That’s not a market,” Sand said in May.
Republican Zach Lahn has vowed to make Iowa’s cancer crisis one of his day one priorities in office. His campaign says the drug pricing system itself has lost Iowans’ trust. They point to federal price transparency rules as a model for lowering costs. Lahn said during a primary debate in May the state needs to better support nursing programs.
“Nursing is one that we can get right into, skilled trades are another. And the reason we do this is not for a political buzzword. We do it because you’re being trained to go deep into your community, to serve your neighbors,” Lahn said in May.
Training hospitals
Lord also says he wants Iowa’s elected officials to open more training hospitals to encourage more young Iowans to work in the medical field.
“I think we got two more medical schools than we did in the 70s and what 100 million more people now in the US? That doesn’t make any sense,” Lord said.
Lord says he doesn’t need a perfect plan. He needs someone willing to act. He says he’s worried large pharmaceutical companies are buying support from those running.
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Isabella Warren covers state government and politics for Gray Media-owned stations in Iowa. Email her at isabella.warren@kcrg.com; and follow her on Facebook at Isabella Warren TV on X/Twitter@isabellaw_gray, and on Instagram@IsabellaWarrenTV.
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