U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means

08/05/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/05/2022 13:18

Dems’ Drug Pricing Scheme Increases Costs, CBO Confirms

Dems' Drug Pricing Scheme Increases Costs, CBO Confirms

August 5, 2022 - Blog - Health - Press Releases

Democrats' socialist drug pricing scheme will raiseprices on new drugs, despite Democrats' claim that their Manchin-Biden Build Back Better bill will lower costs for families, the Congressional Budget Officeconfirmed yesterday.

READ: Congressional Scorekeeper Confirms Democrats' Reconciliation Bill Raises Drug Prices

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • Higher launch prices for prescription drugs will increase costsat the pharmacy counterand raise insurance premiums, pushing new cures out of reach for most American patients except the wealthiest.

READ: WSJ: Cancer Patients Pay a Steep Price in Manchin-Biden Drug Pricing Scheme

  • Loss of innovation is a death sentence for patients and means fewer new treatments and cures.Experts find that Democrats' price-fixing scheme would kill up to 342 cures, according to a study by the University of Chicago.

READ: Study: Democrats' Price Controls Would Have Killed 104 Cures We Have Today

  • American taxpayers are subsidizing the cost of insurance for those who don't need it, CBO also revealed. An additional $40 billion in increased Medicare Part D costs will be shifted onto the backs of American taxpayers, even though polls show a vast majority of Americans oppose government negotiation if it results in fewer new medicines developed in the future.

READ: Analysis: Americans Don't Support Surrendering Innovation for Democrats' Drug Price Controls

Background:

Democrats wave the white flag in the fight against curing cancer by halting development and innovation of new cancer drugs.

  • "Research shows that government price controls on pharmaceutical drugs will lead to fewer new cures and, specifically, more deaths among cancer patients," senior Health Policy Fellow at Americans for Prosperity Dean Clancy said in a recent statement, warning that Democrats' bill will have horrific consequences for cancer patients.
  • A new study from Vital Transformationfinds that if drug price controls under consideration in the Senate had been enacted during the last decade, only six of 110 currently approved therapies would have made it to patients.

The vast majority of Americans oppose government negotiation if it results in fewer new medicines being developed in the future.

  • A 50-state Morning Consult/PhRMApoll shows two thirds of Americans oppose price controls if they put the government in charge and take away power from doctors to prescribe medicines that best meet the needs of patients.

The Bipartisan Solution that Works: The Lower Costs, More Cures Act (H.R. 19) lowers costs for all prescription drugs.

  • Every provision in H.R. 19 is bipartisan. It will lower health care costs and ensure America leads in health care innovation for more cures and treatments.
  • It gives patients more drug price transparency and ensures public disclosure of drug costs and discounts.
  • It increases low-cost options by bringing more generic and biosimilar competition to the marketplace fast.
  • It caps seniors' out-of-pocket costs for insulin at $50 per month.
  • It allows high deductible health insurance plans to cover insulin before the deductible kicks in.