Soon both parties will be offering major legislation designed to address prescription drug costs, almost certainly rekindling proposals to set prices through caps, greater government negotiation powers, punitive taxes on producers, or foreign price indices. The latter proposals would let the government decide how much to pay for drugs based on what socialist countries pay.
National Taxpayers Union urges Congress to avoid these approaches. The United States has been able to rapidly fight the COVID-19 pandemic because our healthcare system provides a balance of innovation, access, and affordability not found anywhere else in the world. It is a mistake to tie our nation’s drug pricing to socialist healthcare systems. History shows that price controls destroy the incentive to innovate. This will, in turn, reduce Americans’ access to lifesaving drugs, hamper our nation’s ability to respond to future healthcare crises, and in the long run burden taxpayers with more expensive treatments such as surgeries and long hospital stays.
In fact, more than 150 economists penned an open letter to policymakers, calling on them to reject dangerous foreign price controls. The letter was originally addressed to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar but applies to current public officials now just as well.
The letter states:
“In this case, price controls can lead to a reduction in patient access to certain drugs, less investment in the research and development of new drugs, and cost-shifting that raises the prices of other therapeutics. Ultimately, patients will suffer as cures are delayed or entirely undeveloped, while taxpayers will be denied potential savings from drugs that could obviate more expensive treatments in government healthcare programs, and the investment of capital in development of new medicines.”
In short, policymakers should reject price controls and instead pursue alternative market-based approaches that would lower prices, expand access, and encourage more innovation. Recently NTU offered a pro-taxpayer blueprint for prescription drug policy that could help Congress develop such approaches.
To speak with NTU President Pete Sepp on new drug price control proposals, please contact Kevin Glass, NTU Vice President of Communications, at 703-299-8670 or at [email protected].
Big Pharma thought they would escape the crocodile, only to find out appeasing that crocodile is now going to eat them. This administration is full tilt communism all the way and no way is this administration listening to Big Pharma.
Get WOKE-Go Broke
And then one more bites the dust at the expense of American’s health or whatever else the WOKE crowd aka communists are going after to rain more destruction on America.
By the way, China and Russia are waiting in the wings for their destruction of America. Missiles aimed straight at us while we are distracted with Social Justice and Racial Justice. Absolutely pitiful and the tragedy of it all, it is intentional from the leadership.
Let me just say this, I was on the drug Colchicine, for a genetic disease that I have. I would get a three month supply for $29 out of pocket. When the Pharmaceutical company got ahold of the bought and paid for Congress, they did away with all generic brands of Colchicine. The price of Colchicine went to over $1,000 for a three month supply. So big Pharma is in bed with the Congress, they are in bed with the CDC and they are in bed with Dr. Fauci’s National Institute of Allergies and Infectious diseases. Dr. Ben Carson was on Fox News yesterday and he indicated that in Africa, where there is high malaria areas, they use hydroxychloroquine for the malaria and as a result they have very little incidences of covid. Big Pharma killed Hydroxy in the United States and in Europe, because Hydroxy is cheap. Use of Hydroxy could have saved lives from Covid, in our Country and in Europe.
Hence why i couldn’t care if ‘big pharma’ goes under cause of rules like this..