Garden State Times

The executive director of Patients Come First - New Jersey (PCF-NJ) said that government price setting in health care will negatively impact “access to research and cures.”

“One of the biggest obstacles facing patients’ access to research and cures is government price setting — whether at the federal level or policies considered by the state,” wrote Jeannette Hoffman in a NJBiz op-ed. “Government bureaucrats setting the price for drugs – or picking and choosing which drugs are eligible to be used in their state – will only increase the likelihood of the withdrawal of some of the best treatments for patients, particularly for those with rare diseases.”

“Gambling with this possibility is dangerous and will only hurt patients who are suffering the most,” Hoffman wrote. 

In her op-ed, Hoffman referenced the Drug Affordability Council created by S-1615, a law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy (D-N.J.) last July. Murphy recently announced that he had made his appointments to this council.

“It’s important that this Council make thoughtful policy decisions that remove barriers — without undercutting the quality or increasing delays to care,” wrote Hoffman.

Hoffman, announced as executive director of PCF-NJ in March, previously worked as vice president of government affairs and communications for The Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey. She also worked as an aide to former Gov. Christine Todd Whitman (R-N.J.).

The PCF website says it will “strive to put patients at the forefront of healthcare” through “advocacy, science, education, and collaboration” on issues including prescription drug payments and discounts, co-pay assistance, government drug price negotiations, and the federal 340b drug discount program, among others.