Pharma money is everywhere — in universities, companies providing ongoing medical education for doctors, and in renowned patient advocacy organizations that are well-known across America.
Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy nonprofit, reports today that between 2010 and 2022, the drug industry’s main lobbying group and member companies provided at least $6 billion in grants to more than 20,000 organizations. The analysis, provided exclusively to KFF Health News in advance of its release, focused on the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and 31 drug companies that were members of the trade group as of March.
This money eclipses industry spending over that time on federal lobbying and campaign contributions to lawmakers. Given that high drug prices are regularly debated in Washington, drug industry grants to patient advocacy groups in particular raises questions about conflicts of interest — including whether organizations that accept the industry’s money shy away from pushing policies that the drugmakers oppose, even if patients may benefit.
“There’s a risk that those entanglements influence the work of those organizations,” said Matthew McCoy, an assistant professor of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania who has studied patient advocacy groups’ influence and transparency.
He said there’s another important dynamic likely at play, too. Companies aren’t blindly choosing which groups to fund but instead are “probably selecting organizations that are already inclined to see the world, see the policy issues, the way they see it.”
A couple examples you’ll recognize: The American Heart Association received $64.1 million over the 12-year period. The American Cancer Society and its advocacy affiliate, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, together received $23.1 million.
The question is whether the money affects the heavyweight groups’ advocacy. After the House passed the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network’s statement lauded the bill’s cap on Medicare enrollees’ out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs and additional tax credits for ACA insurance plans. But the group was silent on a contentious provision giving Medicare the ability to negotiate drug prices with manufacturers.
Lisa Lacasse, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, said in an emailed statement that the organization didn’t take a formal position on Medicare drug negotiation because “the policy’s impact on patient access to and affordability of cancer treatments was unclear.” In contrast, the Part D out-of-pocket cap “has evidence-based patient benefit.”
- “ACS CAN’s only constituents are cancer patients, survivors, and their loved ones nationwide. ACS CAN’s policy agenda is driven entirely by evidence with the single purpose of achieving our mission to end cancer as we know it, for everyone,” she added. “Contributions to the organization do not influence policy decisions or positions.”
The American Heart Association similarly has touted its support of the three-year extension of enhanced Obamacare tax credits in the IRA, but was silent on drug price negotiation. » …
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