MAGA Republicans Want Drug Companies to Continue Ripping Off Americans, Who Pay Up to Four Times More for the Same Drugs as People in Other Countries
Washington D.C. — The Center for Medicare and Medicaid services took another major step to lower the prices of prescription drugs and end the monopoly that drug companies have to set prices. Because of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, Medicare now has the power to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs. Until now, drug companies have charged Americans two to three times more than people in other countries, but these steps will lower prices by at least 25 percent.
The Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program will lower prices for some of the highest-cost prescription drugs that seniors rely on to treat conditions like cancer, diabetes, and autoimmune disorders – conditions that disproportionately impact women, communities of color, and people in rural areas. Read our profiles on the ten selected drugs here.
Since the enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act, big drug companies have spent millions of dollars lobbying and filed meritless lawsuits to block the Negotiation Program from lowering drug prices. Medicare negotiation will save seniors and taxpayers tens of billions of dollars, and it’s the most popular provision of the Inflation Reduction Act. However, every Republican voted in Congress voted against the Inflation Reduction Act and Republicans have now introduced legislation to repeal it and are fighting to protect drug company profits.
In response, Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach issued the following statement:
“Today is a giant step forward in lowering drug prices for millions of Americans. Medicare negotiation means more seniors will be able to afford the medications they need to stay alive. Americans are being ripped off by high drug prices, forcing patients to cut pills and skip doses to make ends meet.
“While President Biden is fighting to lower costs, big drug companies and their Republican allies want to stop negotiations entirely — even as drug companies continue to increase their prices and announce massive profits. The big drug companies are filing bogus lawsuits in hand-picked courts, and Republicans are trying to repeal negotiations in Congress, but President Biden and Democrats are working tirelessly to make prescription drugs affordable for seniors and families across the nation.”
Learn more at LowerDrugPrices.org.