Hillary Clinton Campaign Press Release - When Drug Companies Like Valeant Hike Up Prices For Profit, Lives Like Hers Hang in the Balance

The cost of pharmaceutical price gouging.

Elena Luisi was trapped in her own body.

At 19, she woke up one morning to find that she couldn't move. Or talk.

At the hospital, she was diagnosed with Wilson's Disease, an illness so rare, it was once featured on an episode of House. The disease wreaks havoc on the body, and while there is no cure, the symptoms are manageable—with the right medications.

After two years of full-time treatment and grueling physical therapy, Elena is back in art school—and walking again. Once a month, she walks to the pharmacy down the street, using a green cane to steady herself. The pharmacist knows her well, smiles, and rings her up.

The cost? $29,404.29. Elena pays $10—she has good health insurance.

Elena's most recent receipt.

Managing the symptoms of Wilson's Disease hinges on a drug called Syprine. Valeant Pharmaceuticals bought the rights to it in 2010—a year before Elena was diagnosed—and raised the price astronomically.

Only about 10,000 people have been diagnosed with Wilson's Disease in the United States. Left untreated, it is fatal.

The practice of jacking up drug prices to make a profit is all too common. And recently, the outrageous actions of companies like Valeant and Turing Pharmaceuticals (remember Martin Shkreli?) have landed them the in headlines. A new investigation in Congress by Representative Elijah Cummings reveals they boasted about their actions—treating human beings as a 'price play' and putting profits before patients.

Predatory pharmaceutical companies like Valeant and Turing are profiting on people like Elena. Her disease is rare, and with virtually no other treatment options, drug companies know they can drive up the price of lifesaving medications because people will have no choice but to pay. So in some cases, that's exactly what they do.

Recently, Hillary Clinton called out Valeant Pharmaceuticals for their predatory practices—and made it clear that she is ready, willing, and eager to take them on as president.

" I'm going after them. We are going to stop this. This is predatory pricing. It is unjustified. It is wrong. And we're going to make sure this is stopped."—Hillary Clinton

She also made it overwhelmingly clear what she plans to do about it.

" I will have the Justice Department and every tool at my disposal to go after these companies that are doing this to people who need the help."—Hillary Clinton

Hillary's policy proposals to address this problem, in addition to decades of experience and intricate knowledge of health care policy, mean that people like Elena can focus on what's important: getting and staying healthy.

Glow, by Elena Luisi

That means the world to families around the country. And I would know— because Elena is my younger sister.

Elena and me. Even though she's seven years younger—she's almost a foot taller than I am, even in 5-inch heels.

After Elena was diagnosed, I was lucky that I could afford to leave the workforce temporarily to help care for her. I can't imagine what that must be like for family members who aren't as fortunate. Hillary has proposed a plan to make it easier for caretakers, too.

Growing up, Elena could never ride a bike thanks to what we now know is Wilson's Disease. About a year and a half into her recovery, I bought her a giant tricycle and took this picture of her first bike ride—ever.

For my family, the stakes in this election aren't abstract—the only thing standing between Elena and a $29,403.29 monthly bill is the Affordable Care Act. Before, Elena would have blown through her lifetime cap in months, and you can bet that Wilson's Disease would have qualified as a "pre-existing condition."

In three years, at 26, she'll be too old to stay on our dad's insurance—which will put her at the mercy of another insurance company. In fact, the cost of her medication went up another $2,000 over the holidays alone, and nobody knows when the insurance company will start passing that outrageous price tag on to our family.

There are thousands of families across the country that face debilitating illness with courage and dignity. We do not deserve to spend hours on the phone with our insurance companies, begging them to cover outrageous costs thanks to immoral, predatory, and ruthless pricing schemes—and that's why I moved to Brooklyn to work on Hillary's campaign for president, because she will protect, strengthen, and build upon Obamacare.

My family deserves better. And I know that Hillary Clinton will fight—and win—for Elena, for me, and for thousands of families like mine. Por eso, #EstoyConElla.