On the 5th day of repeal, the GOP took from me: lower drug prices.
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, insurers have to cover what are known as “essential health benefits,” and that includes prescription drugs. This required all health insurance plans to cover at least one drug in every category and class of approved medicines.
The Inflation Reduction Act built on these savings with the Medicare Drug Negotiation Program, which gave Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug costs for seniors. The Biden administration recently announced the first round of high-cost drugs whose prices will come down from negotiation. This includes some of the highest-priced prescription drugs used to treat conditions like diabetes, heart disease, cancer, arthritis, chronic kidney disease, psoriasis, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis – many of which disproportionately impact women, communities of color, and people in rural areas.
From day one after passage, Republicans have been attempting to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act in its entirety, placing these improvements at risk. If these efforts succeed, companies like Merck and Bristol Myers Squibb, who already spent over $100 million to lobby against the initial passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, will continue raking in billions annually on drugs with no generic alternative while charging Americans four times more than other high-income countries.
Read More:
The MAGA Republican War on American Health Care
As Savings Soar Ahead of First Anniversary of Inflation Reduction Act, Republicans Threaten Repeal
Fact Sheet: American Seniors Will Save As Medicare Negotiates Lower Drug Costs