Elected Officials Urge Congress to Stand Up to Big Pharma and Give Medicare the Power to Negotiate for Lower Drug Prices
This week, five New Jersey mayors sent a letter urging lawmakers to prioritize ensuring all Americans access to affordable, high-quality health care by including prescription drug pricing reform in the upcoming budget reconciliation language. These elected officials acknowledge Big Pharma’s grip on Washington and its attempts to protect its massive profits while Americans pay three times more for their prescriptions than people in other countries. Giving Medicare the power to negotiate for lower drug prices would save patients more than $150 billion at the pharmacy counter and create $500 billion in savings for the federal government that could be reinvested in closing the Medicaid coverage gap, expanding Medicare benefits to include hearing, dental, and vision, and reducing health care premiums for Americans purchasing coverage on their own. Today’s coverage illustrates that support from local officials is essential in the fight to rein in prescription drug costs, expand coverage and reduce health care disparities.
HEADLINES
TAPInto Morristown: Morristown Mayor and Others Urge Biden, Congress to Pass Prescription Drug Reform with Medicare Negotiations. “In a letter sent to President Joe Biden and the congressional leadership, the five mayors urged the passing of a bold prescription drug reform that gives Medicare the power to negotiate for lower drug prices for consumers. President Biden and the Democratic congressional leadership have already proposed giving Medicare such powers as part of the president’s Build Back Better agenda that Congress will be considering this fall. Local mayors and local elected officials are asking leaders in Washington to overcome the opposition of pharmaceutical companies to put the health of everyday people first.” [TAPInto Morristown, 9/1/21]
Hudson County View: Bhalla, Davis Join 3 Other N.J. Mayors Calling on Biden, Congress to Pass Prescription Drug Reform. “We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to finally bring down drug prices for American families. The anxiety of not being able to afford health care felt by American families across the country has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and there has never been a more urgent time to improve the health and well-being of American families. The time to act is now.” [The Hudson County View, 9/1/21]