Guest Post: My health care vote

Conversations and healthy debate about issues facing our industry and the health care system are critical to addressing some of today’s challenges and opportunities. The PhRMA blog welcomes guest contributors, including patients, stakeholders, innovators and others, to share their perspectives and point of view.

Today, we are pleased to welcome a guest article from Renne, who lives in Arizona.

I have lived in Arizona my whole life, and I’ve battled asthma since I was a kid. The dry, dusty winds here always make it harder to manage my condition. Unfortunately, almost every year, my asthma gets so bad that I end up in the hospital. There’s nothing worse than the feeling of not being able to breathe. To help prevent these moments, my doctor prescribes inhalers.

My inhaler has become my lifeline, it gives me comfort knowing if I have an asthma attack, I will be okay. I never leave home without it. Some months, especially when the weather changes, I need two inhalers just to keep my symptoms under control.

This is when I face a serious and unnecessary problem. My insurance company and their Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) consistently tell me they don’t want to cover my inhaler despite clear and consistent orders from my medical team. My doctor and I then have to spend hours on the phone explaining my condition and trying to prove why I need access to a second inhaler. It’s incredibly stressful, and it feels like they care more about their greedy profits over my ability to breathe. For me, these inhalers aren’t just about managing asthma—they’re about survival.

This election, I’m like a lot of voters who care about their health, and not adding unnecessary roadblocks and stress. I want my doctor to decide my medications, not someone behind a desk at an office who has never met me.

I want my vote to count toward fixing our country’s broken insurance and PBM system so people like me don’t have to beg for the care we deserve.

On November 5, candidates need to put patients first. It’s time to elect leaders who will prioritize our health and ensure that insurance companies and PBMs do the same. I’m voting because no one should have to fight a middleman for their right to breathe.