Commentary: Federal drug pricing plan hurts Florida medical patients

A quarter of Florida adults — more than 4 million people — live with arthritis. Almost everyone in Orlando knows someone coping with swollen joints, chronic pain or the fear of losing mobility.

At Bay Arthritis Institute, we see their struggles every day: patients with autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis rely on clinics like ours to manage their conditions.

But now, a new drug pricing plan debated in Washington — the Most Favored Nation (MFN) model — would upend their care.

In theory, it promises to lower drug costs by tying U.S. prices to those set in foreign countries. In practice, it would slash the payments small, private practices receive from both Medicare as well as private insurers. Many clinics would no longer be able to stock and administer certain medicines, and som