Rose Adams writes for The American Prospect about one billionaire’s influence over lowering drug prices. John Arnold, a former senior executive at Enron–remember Enron, the company that effectively blew itself up?–has been dedicating a significant amount of his wealth towards initiatives that lower drug prices. The sad reality is that the hundred million he has invested over the last decade has barely moved the needle.
Pharma and the pharmaceutical companies have been investing a hundred million dollars a year or more to make sure Congress does not lower drug prices. Some of that money goes to members of Congress, like Kyrsten Sinema, to stand firm against any legislation that would bring down drug prices. Some of that money goes to advertisements designed to mislead Americans about the consequences of lower drug prices.
Lower drug prices could easily mean smarter research and innovation, rather than many invested to create new versions of the same old drugs–me-too drugs–so that pharmaceutical companies can charge more for them.
Some Pharma money goes to patient advocacy groups to serve as Pharma shills and to disease groups to remain silent on the issue of drug price affordability. Disease groups rarely if ever advocate on behalf of their members who struggle to afford or, worse still, forgo life-saving drugs because of their cost. Biogen, for example, has managed to ensure that the Alzheimer’s Association is mum on the issue of Aduhelm’s $56,000 a year pricetag and its potentially serious side effects.
What’s so troubling is that Pharma continues to have the upper hand in the debate over drug prices, even though lowering drug prices is Americans’ number one policy priority and citizens of every other deeloped country typically pay less than half of what Americans do for their drugs. Without fair drug prices, tens of thousands of Americans will continue to die each year because they cannot afford their life-saving medications.
Arnold and his foundation, Arnold Ventures, fund many groups to fight the good fight. Yet, if we’re lucky, at best we will see in the Build Back Better Act lower drug prices for 60 drugs over the next several years. That’s what’s in the legislation the House just passed. And, it’s not clear yet whether only people with Medicare would benefit from these lower prices or working people would also benefit. For sure, the uninsured will not benefit.
Looking on the bright side, negotiated drug prices for 60 drugs, even if only for some of the population–if the Senate passes this provision in Build Back Better–is a foot in the door to lower drug prices on all drugs for everyone. Looking on the dark side, everyone thought that Medicare’s enactment 56 years ago was a foot in the door to guaranteed health care for all.
Here’s more from Just Care:
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