Florida’s cancer patients can’t afford the risks of HB 697

Oncology managers and providers carry the extraordinary responsibility of ensuring that patients facing cancer have timely, reliable access to the treatments their physicians determine are best for them. Every decision we make can profoundly shape a person’s life, and every treatment option available gives us more opportunities to help patients.

Everyone in this field is driven by a deep passion for helping patients. I am deeply concerned about the legislation Florida policymakers are reviewing in Tallahassee this Legislative Session because of the hurdles it would create for professionals trying to save patients’ lives.

Put simply, HB 697 would tie prescription drug reimbursement in Florida to prices set by foreign governments. While the bill is well-intentioned and aims to address affordability, it ultimately risks doing the opposite for Florida families.

Policies modeled on international reference pricing may appear appealing, but in practice they undermine access to essential therapies and disrupt continuity of care — consequences cancer patients simply cannot afford.

In the United States, nearly 90% of all medicines launched globally between 2012 and 2021 are available to patients. Compare that to 48% in the United Kingdom, 24% in Australia, and just 21% in Canada.

These countries, often used as reference points in foreign price-setting models, limit the treatments patients can receive and force them to wait months or years longer for new therapies. In oncology, where time is irreplaceable, those delays are not policy abstractions; they are life-altering barriers.

The limited access to new treatments this bill would bring to Florida will also impact the development of breakthrough therapies. Cancer patients, especially those with aggressive or rare diseases, cannot afford a world where promising treatments are delayed, abandoned, or never discovered because the policy environment stifles innovation.

Our leaders should champion a system that protects patient access while fostering the innovation that will save lives tomorrow.

HB 697 would cap what insurers and pharmacies are reimbursed based on those foreign prices. That means if a provider or pharmacy cannot purchase a medicine at or below the government-set reference rate, the drug may simply become unavailable in the community setting.

As a result, patients may experience non-medical switching, delayed treatment starts, or be forced out of their physician’s office and into higher-cost hospital systems.

By inserting a foreign government’s valuation into the exam room, this bill prioritizes reimbursement mechanics over clinical decision-making. That is not how cancer care should work.

Furthermore, the bill does nothing to guarantee lower out-of-pocket costs for patients. Insurers and pharmacy benefit managers do not have to pass any negotiated savings on to families at the pharmacy counter.

Floridians want, and deserve, both affordability and access. HB 697 threatens access to life-saving treatments without ensuring lower costs.

There are far better, patient-centered approaches to reducing costs in real time — policies the patient and provider communities have long advocated.

Florida lawmakers can require rebates and discounts be shared directly with patients, ensure copay assistance counts toward deductibles, and strengthen transparency for insurers and PBMs that currently operate with limited accountability.

I urge Florida lawmakers to oppose HB 697 and instead advance solutions that protect affordability and ensure Florida’s providers can deliver the right treatment at the right time.

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Michelle Flowers is the founder of the Oncology Managers of Florida.