“Gov. Kathy Hochul and her administration should immediately reconsider the proposed regulations targeting pharmacy benefits and refocus efforts on policies that actually improve affordability for prescription drugs—especially for minority and vulnerable populations—not make matters worse.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) found almost one in 10 Latino adults did not take prescribed medications due to cost, which is higher than other groups. Just last month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a factsheet that shared, “Latino Medicare enrollees have disproportionately higher rates of certain health conditions relative to their non-Latino peers, including higher rates of hypertension and diabetes. They also report greater health care cost related problems and difficulty affording prescription drugs than their White counterparts.”

No American should be left struggling to afford the medicines they need to live healthy lives and as the president and CEO of the Latino Pastoral Action Center, such startling statistics about the community I serve leave me dumbfounded as to why recent rulemaking by the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) would increase prescription drug costs for patients and families, and make it harder for everyone to access their medicines.

Gov. Kathy Hochul and her administration should immediately reconsider the proposed regulations targeting pharmacy benefits and refocus efforts on policies that actually improve affordability for prescription drugs—especially for minority and vulnerable populations—not make matters worse.

The misguided regulations by DFS will add a $10.18 fee to every prescription filled across New York. This will result in direct costs for patients trying to fill their prescriptions, making it harder for people trying to afford them. Based on the CDC’s findings, I can almost guarantee the populations who will be most acutely affected would be minority groups such as Latinos, who already struggle to afford their prescriptions.  

Patients and families needing just five monthly prescriptions could be expected to spend an additional $600 every year on increased prescription costs. Expecting families to shell out more for their medications each year, on top of living in a state experiencing one of the highest costs of living, is asking the impossible. I for one do not know of any working class family who can dish out such a hefty bill annually. 

The DFS rulemaking also hurts access to prescriptions by undermining affordable pharmacy networks, which would make more affordable prescription drugs out-of-reach for millions, and banning quality and safety measures for specialty pharmacies which would acutely affect those with severe health conditions such as HIV, hemophilia, multiple sclerosis (MS) and even cancer. 

The regulations also make the convenient home delivery that so many working-class people enjoy out of reach. There are so many people in New York who do not have reliable transportation or who work multiple jobs and do not have the time or resources to make it to their brick-and-mortar pharmacy, so they rely on home delivery to get the medicines they need affordably and conveniently. The DFS rule would undermine that ability and make access more difficult. 

The communities I serve already struggle with affordability challenges and cannot afford additional added costs to their health care, making the proposed DFS rulemaking a no brainer for one that should be shot down. 

Latino communities across the Empire State need Gov. Hochul and her administration to act in our best favor and reconsider such a costly rule. 

Bishop Raymond Rivera is the president and CEO of the Latino Pastoral Action Center