Rep. Doggett, Sen. Brown Announce Bicameral Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Bill
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- Bill would Lower Drug Costs & Put People Over Big Pharma Profits,
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"The purpose of medicine is to help people, not to line the pockets of Big Pharma executives. Our bill would call Big Pharma's bluff and demand prescription drug companies offer fair prices, or be boxed out," said Brown, who also introduced the Stop Price Gouging Act today. That bill would penalize pharmaceutical companies that engage in price gouging, leading to price spikes for patients who rely on medication to treat diseases ranging from cancer to addiction.
American patients are burdened by high drug prices, as these same patients' tax dollars go into protecting government-approved, government-funded monopolies. The top healthcare concern for Americans is skyrocketing prescription drug prices, and the number one measure that Americans support to rein in those costs is Medicare negotiation. It is past time for a patient-first plan to lower them.
"Medicare is one of the largest drug purchasers in the country. It should not be restricted from negotiating the best deal with drug manufacturers," Klobuchar said. "Americans deserve better. I have fought for years to unleash the bargaining power of seniors on Medicare and this bill offers another important step towards lowering the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs."
"We have a broken system in
Big pharmaceutical companies often use scare tactics in order to maintain the highest profits of any industry. Doggett and Brown said this industry practice puts profits over people. The Doggett-Brown bill stipulates that if pharmaceutical companies refuse to negotiate a reasonable price on a given medication, the Secretary of HHS could issue this competitive license to another company that will offer the drug at a price that's fair to Medicare beneficiaries and taxpayers.
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