PAN submits letters to Congress in support of reintroduction of the Safe Step Act
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The PAN Foundation submitted letters in support of the recently reintroduced bill S. 2903, the Safe Step Act, to members of the House and Senate.
This legislation would ensure that employer plans, and the pharmacy benefit managers that support them, offer a timely step therapy exceptions process for patients and their providers. A 2021 study found that 55.6% of insurers instituted step therapy protocols that were more stringent than established clinical guidelines. Insurers were found to employ step therapy at higher rates for debilitating conditions like multiple sclerosis, hepatitis C, Crohn’s disease, and arthritis.
The Safe Step Act is progress toward ensuring patients can access the medications they need in a timely manner. Step therapy often harms patients by delaying access to the most effective treatment, causing severe side effects, and leading to irreversible disease progression. And importantly, step therapy can interfere with the provider-patient relationship and inhibit access to timely, quality care.