Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease Urges Policy Makers to Protect Medicaid, Reject Most Favored Nation Pricing Proposal and Prioritize Patient Access
- jenniferb35
- May 5
- 2 min read
May 5, 2025 (Washington, D.C.) The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD) today called on Congressional leaders and the Trump Administration to ensure that treatment access for people living with chronic diseases in Medicaid remains a priority across new policies that aim to make America healthy now and in the future. As chronic conditions such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease affect more than half of all U.S. adults and account for 90% of the nation’s health care costs, we call on decision makers to take patient-focused action to improve health outcomes across America.
Any serious Medicaid reform must prioritize prevention, improve access to recommended care, reduce waste, and foster innovation in treatment and care delivery. A healthier America translates to lower health costs, better quality of life, and a stronger, more productive economy. These priorities are particularly critical for Medicaid-covered individuals living with multiple chronic conditions and rural communities facing persistent health disparities.
Special attention must be paid to America’s Medicaid population, which includes about 37 million children, many living with rare diseases, elderly nursing home residents, individuals living with disabilities, and pregnant women. These vulnerable populations face disproportionate barriers to care. Medicaid-enrolled adults have significantly high rates of chronic illness, with nearly one-third living with three or more chronic conditions.
Recent policy proposals that harm Medicaid coverage and access, including a "most favored nation" (MFN) drug pricing model, risk undermining access to the care and medicines on which Medicaid beneficiaries rely for their health. Provider shortages and other access challenges already plague Medicaid and hinder health improvement and cost savings. Tying drug prices to foreign standards, where value assessments often discriminate against people with disabilities and chronic illnesses, could severely limit access to essential treatments, destabilize the very safety net programs that support our most at-risk citizens, and stifle medical innovation.
Low provider reimbursement, persistent shortages, and shrinking pharmacy access already make it difficult for Medicaid patients to receive consistent, high-quality care. Any cuts to coverage or reductions in provider payments and reimbursement schemes will only deepen these challenges.
With millions more Americans expected to be diagnosed with chronic diseases in the coming years, now is the time to advance policies that support, not hinder, access to treatment, especially for those who need it most. As lawmakers consider efforts to make America healthy again, we urge them to reject proposals that jeopardize coverage and care access for America’s most vulnerable populations. Instead, we need solutions that support access to recommended care and work to advance health innovations that strengthen the nation’s response to chronic disease.
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