Lawmakers are finally moving to address the drug-pricing crisis that is causing a major headache for Texan families like mine.
I’m a mother of four, and another on the way, living in the Rio Grande Valley. Almost everyone in my extended family has struggled with the cost of prescription drugs at one time or another. The situation has gotten so bad that some have resorted to skipping doses or waiting until payday to get their prescriptions refilled.
My mom recently couldn’t afford the medication she needed. Thankfully, she found a coupon that brought the price down enough to make it manageable. But that experience left me wondering: If the drug could be sold for that price all along, why wasn’t it affordable in the first place?
It was reassuring to hear that the newly convened House Select Committee on Health Care Affordability spent almost 10 hours over two days in April and May trying to figure out why the cost of healthcare is continuing to soar. The committee’s ultimate goal is to drive down the cost of healthcare and put a cap on “out-of-control” healthcare inflation, which can’t happen soon enough for Texans.
During that hearing, Yale economist Zack Cooper said healthcare costs for the average American family have risen three times faster than inflation since 2000.
Drug prices are a major part of that problem, causing major stress for families struggling to cover basic medicines for routine illnesses. I can’t even imagine how difficult life must be for people paying the cost of specialty drugs for rare diseases.
My children aren’t taking prescription medications right now, and I’m grateful for that. But every parent knows that kids get ill. Ear infections, strep throat, the flu — they come with a bill. Even routine prescriptions and insurance co-pays can put a strain on a household budget that’s already stretched by groceries, rent, gas, and childcare.
That’s just not right in modern Texas. Families shouldn’t have to hunt for coupons, hope for discounts, or compare pharmacy prices just to get the drugs their doctors prescribe. Access to medicine shouldn’t depend on whether the pharmaceutical companies decide our health can coexist with their profits.
Too often, Big Pharma justifies its high prices by pointing to the enormous cost of developing new medicines. Research is important, and innovation saves lives. But that doesn’t explain why many Americans continue paying far more than people in other developed countries for the very same drugs.
In border communities like mine, families resort to crossing into Mexico to purchase medications they simply cannot afford at home. No family should feel compelled to leave the country, navigate another healthcare system, and assume the risks that come with buying medicines abroad simply because prices here are out of reach.
American consumers effectively subsidize much of the global pharmaceutical market through the prices we pay. We shouldn't also be expected to cross an international border just to benefit from the medicines our own system helped create.
Texans are proud, hardworking, and responsible. But personal responsibility only goes so far when the system itself is stacked against ordinary families. Drug prices have reached a point where even people with insurance can struggle to afford the medicines they need.
We need policymakers to stop accepting this as normal. Greater transparency around drug pricing, more competition where possible, and policies that hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for excessive price increases would help ease the burden on families like mine.
Prescription drugs are supposed to improve people’s health, not become another source of financial anxiety. My family isn’t asking for luxury or special treatment. We’re asking for a healthcare system where people can get the medicines they need without wondering how they’ll pay for them.
That’s not an unreasonable expectation. It’s the least that working families should be able to count on.
I’m glad Texas policymakers are at least engaging with the issue. But we need more action — and fast — and fewer words, because the cost of illness is too much for families to bear.
Editor’s Note: The above guest column was penned by Faithe Guerrero, a mother of four with one on the way. She lives in the Rio Grande Valley area near Mission, Texas. The column appears in the Rio Grande Guardian with the permission of the author.
