On May 11, 2023, the Senate HELP Committee took a critical step to advance meaningful reform that helps all Americans – especially those living with a chronic disease. By voting to include the Safe Step Act in an amendment to the Pharmacy Benefit Manager Reform Act, members of the Senate HELP Committee showed they are willing to stand up for the community of people impacted by chronic diseases and conditions by working across the aisle. We thank all members of the HELP Committee and especially want to applaud Senators Murkowski (R-AK), Hassan (D-NH) and Dr. Marshall (R-KS) for their leadership and determination. 

“As representative of the more than 8 million people in the U.S. who live with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis – as well as of the larger community 160 million Americans living with a chronic disease or condition – I applaud the Senate HELP Committee for advancing the Safe Step Act,” said Leah M. Howard, J.D., President and CEO of the National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF). “It’s essential that people with any health condition can access the treatment they were prescribed, and that Safe Step Act helps achieve that. We still have work to do to get this bill signed into law, but we do want to pause now to thank all the advocates who helped get us this far.”

NPF has been a key leader in the movement to put common sense guardrails on the practice of step therapy. To date, reform has occurred in as many as 36 states. Federally, passage out of the HELP committee marks the most meaningful advancement of the Safe Step Act in its history over three Congresses.

NPF urges the Senate to pass the Safe Step Act and for the House of Representatives to take similar steps to advance this patient-centered reform.

About the National Psoriasis Foundation

Serving the community of people impacted by psoriatic disease for more than 55 years with patient support, advocacy, research, and education, the National Psoriasis Foundation is the leading nonprofit representing individuals with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. The mission of NPF is to drive efforts to cure psoriatic disease and improve the lives of more than 8 million individuals in the United States affected by this chronic immune-mediated disease. As part of that effort, NPF created the Patient Navigation Center to offer personalized assistance to everyone with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis. In recent years, NPF has funded more than $30 million in research grants and fellowships that help drive discoveries that may lead to more and better treatments and ultimately a cure. Learn more at psoriasis.org.
Media Contact

Matt Werbach
NPF Associate Director, Media and Communications
mwerbach@psoriasis.org