While President Biden and Congressional Democrats fought tirelessly to pass the historic health care investments included in the Inflation Reduction Act, every Republican in the House and Senate voted against lowering drug prices, reducing health care premiums, capping insulin costs, and improving care for seniors and people with disabilities. Republicans gave into big drug companies’ lobbying campaign, turning their backs on the American people despite the law’s vast support from voters of all parties.
After spending over $100 million on lobbying to try to stop the passage of the bill, drug companies are pumping millions more into efforts to stop the implementation of the law and going to court to challenge its core provisions. Their main focus is undermining the Medicare drug negotiation program. If the drug industry succeeds in rolling back the Inflation Reduction Act, millions of seniors will pay more for life-saving medications and Medicare premiums will skyrocket.
The repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act is at the very top of the Republican legislative agenda and they are just getting started. If the history of efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act is any indication, the Republican party will continue to attempt to block life-saving programs, preventing Americans from getting quality and affordable health care.
If the Inflation Reduction Act is repealed:
- GONE: Lower health care premiums for people who buy their own coverage through the Marketplace.
- GONE: Medicare’s power to negotiate lower prices for the most popular and expensive prescription drugs.
- GONE: Medicare beneficiaries’ prescription drug savings, including a $2,000 annual out-of-pocket cap and protections from Big Pharma’s price gouges.
- GONE: Free vaccines for seniors, including for shingles and pneumonia.
- GONE: $35 monthly insulin caps for Medicare beneficiaries.
- GONE: Improving racial and ethnic health disparities will regress as insurance becomes less affordable.
- GONE: Lower premiums for those in rural areas, which could leave over 14 percent of the country paying higher premiums simply for not living near a major metropolitan area.
- GONE: Expanded eligibility for the Extra Help program, putting affordable prescription drug coverage further out of reach for millions of seniors.
Republicans Tried To Shut Down The Government After Inflation Reduction Act Passage. Directly after the passage of the law, Republicans led by Representative Scott Perry sought to shut down the government indefinitely unless Democrats rolled back the rules allowing for Medicare to negotiate drug prices and capping out-of-pocket costs for Medicare beneficiaries.
Republicans Have Introduced Legislation To Repeal The Inflation Reduction Act. Big Pharma’s GOP allies in Congress have repeatedly introduced legislation to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act’s prescription drug provisions, which would increase drug costs for millions of seniors. In 2023, Senator Mike Lee reintroduced legislation that would not only repeal Medicare’s new ability to negotiate lower drug prices but would also repeal the new penalties on drug companies that increase prices faster than inflation, and roll back the new $2,000 out-of-pocket spending cap on drug costs for those on Medicare. The Republican Study Committee also released a budget proposal that repeals the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare negotiation program entirely.
