Under Speaker Johnson’s Leadership, Republicans Will Continue Their Agenda of Hiking Drug and Health Insurance Costs, and Eliminating Crucial Protections for the American People
Watch the Event Here.Washington, D.C. — Today, Protect Our Care is releasing a new national report holding Republicans accountable for putting profits over people in their ongoing war on health care during a press call headlined by U.S. Representative Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ-06). Geoff Garin, president of Hart Research, also joined the call and presented recent polling showing how unpopular the Republican war on health care is with the American people.
In Washington and across the country, Republican legislators and Republican-leaning Courts are continuing to attack essential health care, disproportionately targeting people of color, seniors, rural populations, people with disabilities, and the LGBTQI+ community. Right now, Republicans are pushing health care plans that hike costs and trying to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act that lowered care and prescription drug costs for millions of Americans — all to put drug companies back in charge at the expense of seniors across the nation. Republicans rallied behind Rep. Mike Johnson, who has a long history of fighting to raise health care costs and rip away critical protections from the American people, as the newest Speaker of the House.
On the other hand, President Biden and Democrats in Congress continue to fight for the American people by working to build upon the Inflation Reduction Act and Affordable Care Act. Representative Pallone, joined by Representatives Neal, and Scott, has helped lead the way and introduced the Lowering Drug Costs for American Families Act which seeks to reduce prescription drug costs further for all Americans by expanding the drug price provisions to apply to private insurance, including price negotiation and inflation rebates.
Report Key Points:
- Every Republican in the House and Senate voted against the Inflation Reduction Act which lowers health care costs for millions of Americans and has vast support from voters of all parties.
- Big drug companies spent over $100 million trying to kill the Inflation Reduction Act, and they are spending even more to undermine the Medicare Drug Negotiation Program.
- Republicans have released budget proposals that seek to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare negotiation program, hike premium costs, and impose deep cuts to Medicaid.
- Republican-led states are moving far too quickly to throw people off of Medicaid without taking advantage of all the available tools to minimize coverage losses.
- Republicans in Congress are pushing for bills that all promote insurance plans that eliminate protections for people with pre-existing conditions and do not include coverage of essential services like hospital visits and prescription drugs.
- Republicans are leveraging their influence in a number of health care-related court cases such as Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and Braidwood Management v. Becerra, as well as lawsuits filed by Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb, Johnson & Johnson-owned Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim, AstraZeneca, Novartis, and Novo Nordisk as well as mega lobbying groups The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and the US Chamber of Commerce.
“We may have a new House Speaker, but Republicans are still trying to take away health care,” said U.S. Representative Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ-06). “As today’s new report from Protect Our Care says, ‘Republicans’ position on health care is slash, sabotage, and repeal.’ Last night’s election results once again prove that Republicans are extremely out of touch. Democrats are unified in opposing Republicans’ extreme health care agenda and are focused on fighting to further lower health care and prescription drug costs for the American people.”
“Looking towards 2024, health care can play a very decisive role in how voters vote,” said President of Hart Research Geoff Garin. “A large majority of voters say health care will play a large role in deciding their vote and Democrats and President Biden have powerful accomplishments that are broadly supported by diverse groups of voters, including many Republicans. Republicans are in a world of hurt on this issue. The rejection of their policies on health care has deepened when you talk about not just the policies themselves, but the real-world impacts of those policies – how they affect people’s health and their ability to afford the drugs they need to stay healthy.”
“Republicans are pushing their radical MAGA health care plans that harm the American people,” said Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse. “The GOP will stop at nothing to raise health costs, eliminate critical protections just so the rich can get richer, even if it means leaving their own constituents behind. They want to go back to the status quo of Americans struggling to make ends meet due to outrageous health costs just to line the pockets of drug company CEOs and other billionaires. Some things never change: Republicans want a health care plan that would be disastrous for the well-being of hardworking people across our country.”