Stopping Big Pharma's Theft Of Generational Wealth
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is battling efforts by Congress to reign in out-of-control prescription drug prices that are particularly burdensome to older Americans
All the buzz words are there.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce decries a “draconian price-control scheme that violates due process.”
The Chamber has filed a motion demanding the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, LA, issue a preliminary injunction to halt the implementation of the “drug-price-control” provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
Under the IRA, the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services must publish a list of drugs it has selected for negotiation by Sept. 1, 2023. Manufacturers have until October 1 to negotiate a sale price. The price goes into effect in 2026.
For years, big pharma has been sucking the marrow out of 50 million older Americans’ retirement savings by making them pay two to three times higher prescription drug prices than consumers in other countries. It is currently estimated that five million older Americans are forced to ration prescription drugs, go without essentials like food and housing to pay for drugs, or simply go without at their peril.
The Chamber argues the IRA effectively forces drug manufacturers to agree to a government-set price, which it claims violates manufacturers’ right to “certain procedural safeguards to ensure the constitutional minimum of just and reasonable prices and a fair return on investment.” The Chamber claims Congress’s “market focused approach” will deter new drug development which as allowed the United States “to become the world leader in pharmaceutical innovation.”
But at what cost?
A 2022 study by Rand Corp. found that U.S. prescription drug prices are 256% higher than 32 comparison countries combined. Another study fount that more than 40% of people living with cancer spend their entire life savings in the first two years of treatment.
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