From Policy to the Pharmacy Counter: What Most Favored Nation Would Mean for Patients
- Apr 23
- 2 min read
On April 23, We Work For Health hosted a webinar to examine how a Most Favored Nation pricing policy could affect patient access, affordability, and medical innovation, and why the promised savings may not materialize.
Drawing on real‑world examples from Europe and other OECD countries, panelists discussed the unintended but very real consequences of implementing and codifying an MFN policy, including reduced access to lifesaving medicines and limited or nonexistent price relief for patients.
The panelists highlighted how advocates and patients can raise concerns about the dangers of MFN while keeping the conversation grounded in patient‑centered language and priorities.
Dr. Gary Puckrein, President and CEO of the National Minority Quality Forum, warned that government‑set drug prices would further distort the health care market. Pointing to Europe’s long‑standing rationing policies as a cautionary example, he noted that they have disrupted patient access and contributed to a shift in global leadership in medical innovation. He added that China would welcome a U.S. move to implement a Most Favored Nation policy.
Adina Lasser, Director of Public Policy and Government Relations at the Alliance for Aging Research, addressed the use of Quality‑Adjusted Life Years as a health care metric and the risks it poses to fully capturing the value of treatments and determining appropriate payment levels. She also discussed utilization management practices that limit access to care and emphasized that policy decisions made today will have direct consequences for patients both now and in the future.
Amera Bilal, Vice President of Programs and Policy at the Caregiver Action Network, underscored the essential role caregivers play, many of whom are unpaid, and pointed to more than $600 billion in unrealized labor costs each year. She warned that a Most Favored Nation policy could limit access to medical innovation and the medicines that expand opportunity for patients, ultimately narrowing the path to lifesaving treatments.
Donna Cryer, a patient engagement expert, shared the challenges patients already face within the health care system and warned that pricing controls risk compounding those barriers in ways that further limit access to care. She emphasized that the ultimate access issue is a treatment that is never developed, underscoring how policies that undermine innovation can leave patients with fewer options altogether.
Watch the full video below to learn what Most Favored Nation could mean for patients.