“I think it’s really important to be transparent and to have these disclosures,” Bach added.



The disclosures are intended to help audiences “assess the possibility that what is being said or represented is somehow being influenced by interested parties,” he said.

In a follow-up email to POGO, Bach noted that, in a 2012 New York Times op-ed, he and one of his co-authors disclosed that they had received payments from Genentech. The op-ed explained that Memorial Sloan Kettering would no longer administer “a phenomenally expensive new cancer drug” called Zaltrap. The article said Zaltrap had “proved to be no better than a similar medicine we already have for advanced colorectal cancer, while its price — at $11,063 on average for a month of treatment — is more than twice as high.” The less expensive drug was Genentech’s Avastin, the op-ed said.

A third witness scheduled to testify Tuesday is neither a policy professional nor a medical expert. Kathy Sego of Madison, Indiana, is identified on the hearing program as the mother of a child with insulin-dependent diabetes. Sego’s Twitter bio describes her in part as “Diabetes Advocate, volunteer American Diabetes Association.”



The American Diabetes Association (ADA) issued a media advisory Friday heralding Sego’s testimony.

“ADA Advocate, mother and teacher Kathy Sego will testify about the personal impact of high insulin costs for her family,” the advisory says.

An article in an ADA publication describes problems patients can experience when particular insulins are excluded from formularies—lists of covered drugs—and when health plans require patients to pay a large share of the costs. The article says:



“One such example comes from Kathy Sego, who signed the ADA’s Make Insulin Affordable petition and whose son, Hunter, has type 1 diabetes. Hunter requires approximately four vials of insulin per month to properly manage his diabetes, at a monthly out-of-pocket cost of $1,948 until the family meets the health plan deductible. Knowing the impact of this cost on his family, Hunter, a college student in 2016, began skipping insulin doses, which can lead to serious and even deadly complications.”

The Senate Finance Committee asked ADA for a list of patients who would be willing to share their family’s personal experience with rising insulin prices, and the committee selected Sego, ADA spokesperson Michelle Kirkwood told POGO by email.

Sego could not be reached for comment. After POGO left messages for Sego with a member of her family, Kirkwood asked that POGO go through her to reach Sego. Kirkwood later said Sego was not available for media interviews.

Kirkwood said neither Sego nor anyone in her family has received money from the pharmaceutical industry. Kirkwood said Sego's son has been receiving a scholarship from the Team Type 1 Foundation through its Global Ambassador Scholarship Program.