It has been 32 years since Senator David Pryor, then Chair of the Senate Aging Committee made the case for government negotiation of drug prices because Americans were facing a “crisis of affordability.” Today, with drug prices at much higher levels and thousands dying every year for lack of access to affordable medicines, it seems that Congress is not much closer to stopping Pharma from gouging Americans. Even Medicare drug price negotiation appears a long shot.
Jonathan Weisman reports for the New York Times on the history of Congressional action on prescription drug prices. Senator Wyden, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, is pushing hard for lower drug prices. Like Senator Bernie Sanders, who chairs the Senate Budget Committee, Senator Wyden does not want to let the pharmaceutical industry win the fight.
Negotiated drug prices will allow tens of thousands more people to fill their medications. It will expand their access to drugs. As it is, health insurers restrict people’s access to drugs through formularies. Lower prices should mean greater access.
There’s nothing complicated about this issue, as some Democrats claim. Every other wealthy nation regulates drug prices. And, opening our borders to allow drug importation would be simple. That would bring prices down in a jiffy and is not materially different from importation of food and other products. There is, however, a strong likelihood that these Democrats who are right now in the pockets of Pharma would lose large campaign contributions from the pharmaceutical industry.
Meanwhile, some in Congress are looking to require pharmaceutical companies to pay rebates to the government on any drugs whose prices rise faster than inflation. That would at least limit drug price increases significantly.
And, there is movement on allowing Medicare to negotiate down prices of outpatient drugs, such as chemotherapy, when they go off-patent. There is also some consensus on putting an out-of-pocket cap on the Medicare Part D benefit. The small percentage of people with high drug expenses would be better able to afford their medicines. But, depending upon how it is paid for, it could lead to higher Part D premiums for everyone with Medicare, and Pharma could be the primary beneficiary.
One sure thing. Polling shows that Americans–Republicans and Democrats alike–desperately want to see Congress regulate drug prices and make drugs affordable. It would help the Democrats in 2022, if they succeed at getting this done.
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