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ashoup
In Fact Sheet, Research

“Medicare Autumn” Fact Sheet: American Seniors Will Save As Medicare Negotiates Lower Drug Costs

Protect Our Care launched a new campaign, “Medicare Autumn,” to educate seniors on how Medicare is better than ever. Thanks to the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program included in the Inflation Reduction Act, Medicare now has the ability to negotiate drug prices to lower costs for seniors on Medicare. 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. 

For too long, Americans have been paying three to four times more than people in other countries for the prescription drugs they depend on, forcing people to choose between filling a prescription or filling their refrigerator. Giving Medicare the power to negotiate with drug companies will help bring the price of medicines in the U.S. more in line with what other countries pay.

The impact of lower prescription drug costs thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act will be felt by people across the country. Negotiating lower prices on certain popular high-cost drugs will help:

  • 3,505,000 Americans who pay an average of $441 out-of-pocket per year for Eliquis, sold by Bristol Myers Squibb, to treat blood clots.
  • 47,000 Americans who pay an average of $921 out-of-pocket per year for Enbrel, sold by Amgen, to treat arthritis and psoriasis. 
  • 521,000 Americans who pay an average of $357 out-of-pocket per year for Entresto, sold by Novartis, to treat heart failure. 
  • 639,000 Americans who pay an average of $260 out-of-pocket per year for Farxiga, sold by AstraZeneca to treat diabetes.
  • 763,000 Americans who pay an average of $121 out-of-pocket per year for Fiasp/NovoLog, sold by Novo Nordisk, to treat diabetes. 
  • 22,000 Americans who pay an average of $5,247 out-of-pocket per year for Imbruvica, sold by AbbVie, to treat blood cancers. 
  • 885,000 Americans who pay an average of $270 out-of-pocket per year for Januvia, sold by Merck, to treat diabetes. 
  • 1,321,000 Americans who pay an average of $290 out-of-pocket per year for Jardiance, sold by Boehringer Ingelheim, to treat diabetes. 
  • 20,000 Americans who pay an average of $2,058 out-of-pocket per year for Stelara, sold by Johnson & Johnson, to treat psoriasis and Crohn’s disease.
  • 1,311,000 Americans who pay an average of $451 out-of-pocket per year for Xarelto, sold by Johnson & Johnson, to treat blood clots.

Drug Price Negotiation Improves Other Medicare Benefits. As a result of Medicare negotiation negotiations, Americans with Medicare will have access to innovative, life-saving treatments at lower prices, translating into lower premiums and out-of-pocket costs for older Americans and producing savings that are being used to improve benefits, including: 

  • a new $35 cap on monthly insulin prescriptions; 
  • free recommended vaccines;
  • a $2,000 annual cap on prescription drug costs taking effect in 2025.

The First 10 Drugs Are Just The Beginning. Negotiations will occur over the coming year and new, lower prices will be announced by September 1, 2024, and take effect in 2026. The first ten drugs that will see lower prices are responsible for about 20% of total Medicare Part D prescription drug costs every year. The companies that market them have made more than $493 billion in revenue from these drugs. Medicare will negotiate lower prices for an additional 15 drugs for prices effective in 2027, and by 2029, Medicare will negotiate lower prices for 20 drugs per year. And President Biden and Democrats in Congress are already working to expand these cost savings to more Americans, no matter what age they are or how they get their health coverage. 

Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Is Overwhelmingly Popular. Negotiating lower prices is overwhelmingly popular across the country, yet big drug companies are suing the federal government to protect their massive profits by halting the program. A recent Hart Research poll shows that 96 percent of Americans agree that lowering drug prices “is an important way to help people afford the cost of living,” and nearly three-quarters of Americans favor Medicare negotiation. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies’ arguments against negotiation are overwhelmingly rejected by the American people.

Big Drug Companies Are Threatening To Keep Drug Prices High Through The Courts. Drug company giants including Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb, Johnson & Johnson-owned Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim, AstraZeneca, and Novartis, as well as mega lobbying groups PhRMA and the US Chamber of Commerce, have sued the federal government in an effort to stop Medicare from negotiating for lower prescription drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries. If the big drug companies get their way patients will pay more so the drug companies can make more money:

  • GONE: Medicare’s power to negotiate lower prices for the most popular and expensive prescription drugs. Under the Inflation Reduction Act, Medicare is set to begin negotiating prices for 10 of the top 50 most expensive Part D drugs in 2026, adding another 15 drugs in 2027 and 2028, and another 20 in 2029 and subsequent years.
  • GONE: $98.6 billion in Medicare savings over the next decade from the drug negotiation program, which translates into savings for patients and taxpayers.
  • GONE: Lower Part D premiums and lower out-of-pocket drug costs for certain Medicare beneficiaries who rely on qualifying drugs.

The plaintiffs assert several sweeping claims, including under the First Amendment, the Fifth Amendment, and the Eighth Amendment across the lawsuits, but experts agree that these meritless arguments are merely an attempt to maintain the status quo where drug companies can protect their massive profits by charging whatever they want at the expense of patients and taxpayers.

ashoup
In Research, Fact Sheet

FACT SHEET: Medicare Open Enrollment Brings New Benefits and Savings for Millions of Seniors

Seniors Will Save in 2024 Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act: Lower Drug Costs, Monthly Insulin Cost Cap, and Free Vaccines 

Medicare open enrollment began on October 15 and runs through December 7. Millions of seniors will begin selecting their coverage for 2024. It is important that seniors understand the savings available to them as they make decisions about enrolling in a Medicare plan.

As Medicare beneficiaries review plans for 2024, seniors will see new benefits thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act’s measures to drive down drug costs. As they did during the 2023 Medicare open enrollment, seniors will see lower premiums for prescription drug coverage. As of January 1, 2023, critical vaccines are now free, monthly insulin costs are capped at $35 per prescription, and drug companies cannot take advantage of seniors by raising drug prices faster than the rate of inflation. Additionally, in the years ahead, Medicare beneficiaries will see lower drug prices across the board thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act’s provisions to give Medicare the power to negotiate and cap out-of-pocket drug costs at $2,000 a year. This translates to thousands of dollars in savings for millions of seniors and people with disabilities nationwide. 

BY THE NUMBERS: Seniors Will Pay Less for Health Care

The Inflation Reduction Act is drastically reducing the cost of prescription drugs for the more than 50 million Americans enrolled in Medicare’s Part D drug benefit, reducing racial, income, and geographic disparities in health care, and saving lives. Seniors will no longer have to choose between paying for the drugs they need and other essentials like food and housing.

By the Numbers:

  • Over 50 million Medicare beneficiaries no longer face big drug companies’ outrageous price hikes that exceed inflation. 
  • All Medicare Part D beneficiaries have access to covered vaccines, such as shingles and pneumonia, at no cost.
  • No Medicare beneficiary pays more than $35 a month for an insulin copay.
  • Over 50 million Medicare Part D beneficiaries will have out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs capped at $2,000 per year beginning in 2025. 
  • Lower prices are being negotiated for the first 10 drugs selected for the Negotiation Program, with more drugs to be named each year. The first ten drugs are Eliquis, Jardiance, Xarelto, Januvia, Farxiga, Entresto, Enbrel, Imbruvica, Stelara, and Fiasp/NovoLog.
  • Premiums for the average Medicare Part D plan are decreasing by 1.8 percent in 2024.

The Inflation Reduction Act Lowers Prescription Drug Prices

Medicare Negotiation For Lower Drug Prices. The Biden administration is implementing the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program which is supported by over 80 percent of Americans — the most popular provision in the Inflation Reduction Act. In August, the first round of high-cost drugs that will be negotiated was announced: Eliquis, Jardiance, Xarelto, Januvia, Farxiga, Entresto, Enbrel, Imbruvica, Stelara, and Fiasp/ NovoLog. These high-cost drugs treat conditions like cancer, diabetes, and blood clots. The first ten drugs selected for negotiation are taken by nearly 9 million people on Medicare, who spent $3.4 billion in out-of-pocket costs last year alone.  The negotiated prices will be effective starting in 2026. 

Game-Changer For Insulin-Dependent Seniors. In 2020, there were more than 3.2 million insulin users with Medicare, with nearly 1.7 million purchasing their insulin without low-income subsidies. On average, seniors with Medicare Part D or B who are not receiving subsidies pay an average of $572 every year for this life-saving medication — an unthinkable sum for many on fixed incomes. Patients who suffer chronic complications can expect to pay upwards of an additional $650 per year. Under the Inflation Reduction Act, insulin copays for people on Medicare are capped at $35 per prescription each month. A recent study showed that 1.5 million people on Medicare would have saved an average of $500 in 2020 from the $35 insulin copay cap.

Ends Outrageous Price Increases For Seniors. The Inflation Reduction Act penalized drug companies for raising drug prices faster than the rate of inflation starting at the beginning of 2023. An analysis by KFF showed that half of all drugs covered by Medicare had list price increases exceeding the rate of inflation in 2020. For example, Humira, a medication commonly used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, is one of the nation’s highest revenue-generating drugs, raking in $21 billion in sales in 2019. AbbVie, Humira’s manufacturer, has hiked the price of Humira 27 times, including in January 2021 when it raised its cost by 7.4 percent. Over the past 20 years, price increases for brand-name drugs in Medicare Part D have risen at more than twice the rate of inflation. 

Free Shingles Vaccinations. Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, 50.5 million seniors are eligible for no-cost shingles vaccinations. In 2020, nearly 4 million Medicare beneficiaries received the two-part shingles vaccination. With a single shot of Shingrix costing $212, seniors on Medicare Part D are saving over $400 on average on vaccinations in 2023. The high out-of-pocket cost of the shingles vaccine has been a key factor in low vaccination rates, especially among Black and Latino communities. This extends an important affordable preventive service to seniors on Medicare; Americans with private insurance could already typically receive shingles vaccinations at no cost.

ashoup
In Fact Sheet, Research

FACT SHEET: How Medicare’s New Drug Price Negotiation Power Will Advance Health Equity

On August 29, the Biden administration announced the first round of high-cost drugs whose prices will come down as Medicare negotiates with the drug companies – a new power they have under the Inflation Reduction Act. This new program will lower prices for some of the highest-priced prescription drugs on the market used to treat conditions like diabetes, heart failure, blood clots, and autoimmune disorders – conditions that disproportionately impact women, communities of color, and people in rural areas. The Inflation Reduction Act was championed by President Biden and Democrats in Congress to lower health care costs for people across the nation. 

The first ten drugs selected for negotiation are taken by nearly 9 million people on Medicare and account for about 20 percent of annual Medicare Part D spending. CMS will negotiate lower prices with manufacturers of these drugs, and those prices will take effect in 2026. The drugs are:

  1. Eliquis which is manufactured by Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer to treat blood clots
  2. Enbrel which is manufactured by Amgen to treat rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis
  3. Entresto which is manufactured by Novartis to treat heart failure 
  4. Farxiga which is manufactured by AstraZeneca to treat diabetes, heart failure, and kidney disease
  5. Fiasp, also known as NovoLog, which is manufactured by Novo Nordisk to treat diabetes
  6. Imbruvica which is manufactured by AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson to treat leukemia and lymphoma 
  7. Januvia which is manufactured by Merck to treat diabetes
  8. Jardiance which is manufactured by Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly to treat diabetes
  9. Stelara which is manufactured by Johnson & Johnson to treat psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis
  10. Xarelto which is manufactured by Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Bayer to treat blood clots

The Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program advances health equity in two key ways: 

First, the Negotiation Program will lower drug prices for certain high-cost drugs, which will reduce out-of-pocket costs for Medicare enrollees. Since Black, Latino, women, LGBTQI+, and disabled people on Medicare are more likely to have lower incomes and less savings, reducing prescription drug costs will be especially impactful for their financial security and access to care. Lowering prices through negotiation is one of several ways the law reduces prescription drug costs for Medicare enrollees. Others include: capping monthly copays for insulin at $35, providing vaccines at no cost, limiting annual out-of-pocket spending in Part D to $2,000, which will save seniors with high drug costs over $400 per year, and making the Medicare Extra Help program available to more low-income seniors, reducing their premiums and copays for medication. 

Second, negotiating lower prices for the selected drugs will make drugs that are disproportionately needed by historically marginalized communities more affordable and accessible. The ten drugs selected by Medicare for lower negotiated prices treat a number of conditions that disproportionately impact people of color, and Medicare enrollees of color are more likely than the general Medicare population to take six of the ten selected drugs. Of the ten drugs selected by Medicare, eight treat conditions that disproportionately impact people of color including diabetes, heart failure, chronic kidney disease, blood clots, arthritis, and blood cancer (see Table 1). Additionally, six of the ten drugs are taken by a disproportionate number of Black, Latino, Asian, and/or American Indian/Alaska Native Medicare enrollees relative to the Medicare population as a whole (see Table 2), including

  • Enbrel is taken by a higher percentage of Latino enrollees and American Indian/Alaska Native enrollees than their proportion of the Medicare population. 
  • Entresto is taken by a higher percentage of Black enrollees than their proportion of the Medicare population. 
  • Farxiga is taken by a higher percentage of Black enrollees, Latino enrollees, and Asian American enrollees than their proportion of the Medicare population.
  • Fiasp/NovoLog is taken by a higher percentage of Black enrollees, Latino enrollees, and American Indian/Alaskan Native enrollees than their proportion of the Medicare population.
  • Januvia is taken by a higher percentage of Black enrollees, Latino enrollees, and Asian American enrollees than their proportion of the Medicare population. 
  • Jardiance is taken by a higher percentage of Black enrollees, Latino enrollees, Asian American enrollees, and American Indian/Alaskan Native enrollees than their proportion of the Medicare population.

Negotiating lower prices remains overwhelmingly popular among voters of all parties across the country. Unfortunately, big drug companies are suing the federal government to halt the program and protect their massive profits, and Republicans are attempting to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act in its entirety, placing these equity-advancing improvements at risk.

Table 1: Demographic Impact of Conditions Treated by Drugs Selected for Negotiation

Race/Ethnicity Conditions Selected Drugs
Black Non-Latino When compared to White non-Latinos, Black non-Latinos are:

  • 60 percent more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes and twice as likely to die from diabetes.
  • 2.5 times more likely to be hospitalized with diabetes and associated long-term complications than White Americans.
  • 3.2 times more likely to be diagnosed with end-stage renal disease.
  • 30 percent more likely to die from heart disease.
  • 30 percent more likely to have high blood pressure, and less likely to have their blood pressure under control.
  • 30% to 100% more likely to experience blood clots.
 Eliquis (blood clots)
Entresto (heart failure)
Farxiga (diabetes; heart failure; chronic kidney disease)
Fiasp/ NovoLog (diabetes)
Januvia (diabetes)
Jardiance (diabetes; heart failure)
Xarelto (blood clots)
Latino When compared to White non-Latinos, Latinos are:

  • 70 percent more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes and 1.3 times more likely to die from diabetes.
  • Twice as likely to be hospitalized for treatment of end-stage renal disease related to diabetes.
  • More likely to have higher levels of disability-related diabetes (3.2%) and hypertension (2.7%).
  • Among the most likely to have activity limitations due to arthritis of any racial group other than American Indian/Alaska Natives.
 Enbrel (rheumatoid arthritis; psoriasis; psoriatic arthritis)
Farxiga (diabetes; heart failure; chronic kidney disease)
Fiasp/ NovoLog (diabetes)
Januvia (diabetes)
Jardiance (diabetes; heart failure)
Asian American When compared to White non-Latinos, Asian Americans are:

  • 40 percent more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes.
  • 60 percent more likely to be diagnosed with end-stage renal disease.
 Farxiga (diabetes; heart failure; chronic kidney disease)
Fiasp/ NovoLog (diabetes)
Januvia (diabetes)
Jardiance (diabetes; heart failure)
American Indian / Alaska Native When compared to White non-Latinos, American Indian/Alaska Natives are:

  • Nearly three times more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes and 2.3 times more likely to die from diabetes.
  • Twice as likely to be diagnosed with end-stage renal disease.
  • 50 percent more likely to be diagnosed with coronary heart disease.
  • Most likely to have activity limitations due to arthritis of any racial group.
 Enbrel (rheumatoid arthritis; psoriasis; psoriatic arthritis)
Entresto (heart failure)
Farxiga (diabetes; heart failure; chronic kidney disease)
Fiasp/ NovoLog (diabetes)
Januvia (diabetes)
Jardiance (diabetes; heart failure)

Table 2: Drugs Selected for Negotiation Disproportionately Taken by Medicare Enrollees of Color

Race/Ethnicity Medicare Part D Pop. Jardiance Januvia Farxiga  Entresto Enbrel Fiasp/ NovoLog*
Black Non-Latino 10.7% 14% 16% 16% 18% 11% 17%
Latino 10.1% 13% 16% 14% 9% 14% 11%
Asian American 3.7% 6% 7% 6% 3% 3% 3%
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.3% 1% >0% >0% >0% 1% 1%

*the full drug name is Fiasp; Fiasp FlexTouch; Fiasp PenFill; NovoLog; NovoLog FlexPen; NovoLog PenFill

Click here for a PDF of the tables and links.

ashoup
In News, Report, Press Call, Research

Protect Our Care Unveils New Report During Press Call with Senator Welch Ahead of New Medicare Negotiation Guidance By Biden Administration

Watch the Event Here. 

Washington, DC — Today, Protect Our Care announced the release of a new report on five drugs that may be selected for the initial round of negotiations through the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program during a press call headlined by U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-VT). Tahir Amin, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of the Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge, Robert Roach, Jr., President of the Alliance for Retired Americans, and Andrea Harris, Director of Policy Programs of Protect Our Care also joined the call to discuss the importance of giving Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices. 

Big drug companies are now turning to the courts to try to dismantle the Negotiation Program because they didn’t get their way after spending a record $372 million lobbying Congress in 2022. Drug company giants Merck and Bristol Myers Squibb, as well as mega lobbying groups, PhRMA, and the US Chamber of Commerce, have sued the federal government in an effort to stop Medicare from negotiating lower prescription drug prices and giving seniors the breathing room they need. Republican lawmakers have also introduced legislation to repeal the prescription drug provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act in order to line the pockets of drug company executives and raise costs on patients.

“The pricing power of Pharma has been abused, absolutely, from beginning to end,” said U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-VT). “This question about prescription drugs is really about affordability: things that people need every day, they can’t afford. The price negotiation legislation that President Biden signed is finally going to give a tool to Medicare to do what every other government agency does – stand up for fair prices for prescription drugs. Folks need to be able to afford prescription medications. And we’re not going to let Pharma sue their way out of this achievement that has been long overdue.”

“Prescription drug spending has tripled since 2000 to nearly $400 billion today, and is poised to expand further 50 percent within the next 10 years,” said Tahir Amin, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of the Initiative for Medicines. “This increase is fueled mostly by branded drugs which make up just eight percent of prescriptions but account for 84 percent of all drug spending in the United States. We cannot continue to pay these prices, and that’s why the Inflation Reduction Act and the provisions that will curb some of these excesses that the drug companies have been able to develop through patenting games is so important.”

“Our members know when a law truly changes people’s lives,” said Robert Roach, Jr., President of the Alliance for Retired Americans. “And President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act does that in a number of ways. Because the law penalizes corporations that increase the price of a drug faster than inflation, Americans who take 43 prescription drugs will save between $1 and $499 per average dose. That’s real results.”

“For far too long, big drug companies have exploited their market power, making drugs unaffordable for seniors and costing taxpayers tens of billions of dollars,” said Andrea Harris, Director of Policy Programs of Protect Our Care. “Protect Our Care’s new report shines a light on why the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program is so desperately needed to fix this broken system.”

“While the Biden administration is working tirelessly to implement Medicare negotiation and deliver savings to seniors, pharmaceutical companies and their Republican allies are doing everything in their power to protect their outrageous profits,” said ​​Leslie Dach, Chair of Protect Our Care. “Republicans are trying to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act, and major pharmaceutical companies are in court trying to take away Medicare’s power to negotiate lower prices. Fortunately, we have a president who will ensure everyone can afford the medicines they need.”

ashoup
In Research, News, Report

NEW REPORT: “Why Medicare Needs the Power to Negotiate for Lower Drug Costs: Outrageous Prices, Greed, and Patent Exploitation”

A Detailed Look At 5 Drugs That Tell The Story

Read the Full Report Here.

Washington, DC — Ahead of the release of the final guidance for the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program from the Biden-Harris administration, Protect Our Care is releasing a new report that provides a detailed look at five drugs that will likely qualify for the first round of negotiations, demonstrating the importance of finally allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices. The five drugs are:

  • Enbrel which is sold by Amgen to treat arthritis and plaque psoriasis. Enbrel has seen a 346% price increase since 2008.
  • Ibrance which is sold by Pfizer to treat breast cancer. It cost $181,663 for an annual supply of Ibrance in 2022.
  • Imbruvica which is sold by AbbVie to treat Leukemia and Lymphoma. The average annual out-of-pocket cost for Imbruvica was $7,118 in 2020.
  • Januvia which is sold by Merck to treat Type 2 Diabetes. Januvia made $49.9 billion in global revenue.
  • Xarelto which is sold by Johnson & Johnson to treat blood clots. Medicare has spent $25 billion on Xarelto since its launch.

Together, the Medicare program incurred total spending of $16.69 billion in 2021 alone for these five drugs. These drugs have high list prices and list price increases over time that far exceed inflation. Imbruvica has an annual list price tag of $197,486; Ibrance is priced at $181,663 per year. Enbrel’s price is $82,001 per year, which has grown by 346% since 2008. These prices translate into billions in sales for drugmakers. For example, Medicare has spent nearly $28 billion on Januvia since 2010 and $15.4 billion on Enbrel since 2010.

Big drug companies protect their profits by exploiting the patent system to extend the length of time their drugs are on the market without generic or biosimilar competitors. AbbVie, for example, has filed 195 patent applications for Imbruvica to thwart competition, extending its patent protection for an additional 5.3 years and yielding $13.8 billion in revenue. Amgen has extended patent protections for Enbrel by 13.6 years, protecting $55 billion in revenue. 

After voting against lowering drug prices, reducing health care premiums, capping insulin costs, and improving care for seniors and people with disabilities in the Inflation Reduction Act, it is no surprise that Republicans and big drug companies are now attacking it in Congress and the courts. Pharmaceutical giants Merck and Bristol Myers Squibb, as well as mega lobbying groups, PhRMA and the US Chamber of Commerce, are filing meritless lawsuits to protect their profits and stop the administration from negotiating lower drug prices. MAGA Republicans in Congress have introduced legislation to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act’s prescription drug provisions and revoke the savings for millions. 

“For far too long, Big Pharma has held unchecked power to charge whatever they wanted for prescription drugs, and patients have been forced to skip doses and choose between their health and putting food on the table,” said Leslie Dach, Chair, Protect Our Care. “Patients deserve affordable care and the Inflation Reduction Act keeps that promise. Thankfully, President Biden and Democrats are committed to lowering drug costs and delivering savings to those who need it most.”

“These five drugs tell the story of Big Pharma’s greed at the expense of seniors and taxpayers,” said Andrea Harris, Director of Policy Programs, Protect Our Care. “They lost the lobbying battle against reducing drug prices for seniors by negotiating lower prices, and now they are doing everything in their power to stop the law from helping patients who are cutting pills and skipping doses. The Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program is finally ending the age of Big Pharma’s unchecked power to charge whatever they want for drugs.”

protectourcare
In News

New TV Ad Blasts Trump for Breaking His Promise on Cuts to Medicare and Medicaid

Ad also Targets Ten Congressional Republicans Calling on Them to Oppose Trump’s War on Health Care

Washington, DC — Protect Our Care will air a new television and digital ad this week calling out President Trump for his many lies about wanting to save Medicare and Medicaid while proposing to gut their funding and sabotaging our health care system at every turn.

The ad, called “Broken Promises,” slams Trump’s blatant hypocrisy on Medicare and Medicaid cuts by highlighting his false promise to “save Medicare and Medicaid… without cuts” if elected, only to turn around once in office and repeatedly try to gut them. The ad, which was featured in the Washington Post this morning, urges people to call their representatives and demand they reject Trump’s budget and its trillions of dollars in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.

Watch the ad here.

“Time and again, Trump claimed he wouldn’t cut Medicare and Medicaid if elected – but of course that was a blatant lie,” said Protect Our Care executive director Brad Woodhouse. “As president, he has repeatedly broken his promise to Americans not to cut Medicare and Medicaid, and his latest budget slashes them by trillions of dollars. It’s clear that Trump will stop at nothing to sabotage our health care system, and will do so while showering insurance and drug companies with billions of dollars in tax breaks as they raise premiums and jack up the costs of prescription drugs.”

The ad will run on cable in DC as well as digitally targeting President Trump’s Senate allies Martha McSally (R-AZ), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Susan Collins (R-ME) who are all considered vulnerable in 2020. The ad will also run digitally in selected House districts to target vulnerable Republicans in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, and New York – specifically, representatives Fitzpatrick (PA-01), Davis (IL-13), Upton (MI-06), Hagedorn (MN-01), Bacon (NE-02), and Katko (NY-24).

View the national ad:

SCRIPT

Donald Trump. When he ran for President he promised to:

“Save Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security without cuts.”

But now, Trump is turning his back on seniors and families — proposing over two trillion dollars in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.

Breaking his promise.

Slashing our health care to the bone.

And for what? Tax breaks for the wealthiest corporations.

Call Congress — tell them to oppose Trump’s cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.

###

protectourcare
In News

NEW POLL: Voters Overwhelmingly Reject Cuts to Medicare and Medicaid in President Trump’s Budget Proposal

New Poll From PPP Found That Voters are Less Likely to Support President Trump’s Reelection After He Broke His Campaign Promise by Proposing Cuts to Medicare and Medicaid After Giving Tax Breaks to Big Corporations

Washington DC — Today, a new poll from Public Policy Polling (PPP) for Protect Our Care shows overwhelming voter rejection of President Trump’s newly released budget proposal because of its cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. Despite Trump’s campaign promise to oppose cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, he proposed a budget that makes these cuts after he already gave new tax breaks to big corporations. 60% of voters say they oppose Trump’s proposed Medicaid cuts, 72% say they oppose the Medicare cuts and 50% of voters say they’re less likely to vote for him because of these proposed cuts.

“This poll shows the Trump administration is acting against the will of the American people by proposing a budget that guts critical health care programs relied on by millions of Americans, especially impacting seniors and children,” said Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care. “These massive cuts to Medicare and Medicaid are even more egregious when considering the billions of dollars in tax breaks that the administration has showered on health insurance and drug companies. It’s way past time for the president and his Republican allies to wake up and stop their war on health care.”

Key findings from the survey include:

Voters overwhelmingly oppose the cuts to Medicare and Medicaid in Trump’s budget:

  • 72% oppose the Medicare Cuts in Trump’s Budget. By a 59-point margin (72% to 13%) voters oppose the proposed budget because it includes an $845-billion in cuts to Medicare. 81% of voters over the age of 65 say they oppose these cuts, and 70% of Independents also oppose the cuts to Medicare.
  • 60% oppose the Medicaid Cuts in Trump’s Budget. By a 36-point margin (60% to 24%) voters oppose the proposed budget because it includes a more than $1-trillion cut to Medicaid. 59% of Independents say they oppose the cuts to Medicaid.

Voters say the budget makes them less likely to support Trump for reelection:

  • 50% of voters say they’re less likely to support Trump because he broke his promise not to cut Medicare and Medicaid – including 54% with independents – while only 14% say they’re more likely to support him.
  • 54% of voters say they’re less likely to support Trump because he cut Medicare & Medicaid after giving away hundreds of billions of dollars in new tax breaks for big corporations, including 57% of voters people over age 65 and 51% of Independents. Just 15% say they’re more likely to support Trump due to the cuts.
  • 52% of voters say they’d vote for Trump’s Democratic opponent for President if the election were held today, compared to just 41% who say they’d vote for Trump.

Public Policy Polling surveyed 661 national voters by telephone on March 13th and 14th, on behalf of Protect Our Care. The survey’s margin of error is +/-3.8%.

protectourcare
In News

All-Lies on Azar

Day One of Secretary Azar’s Testimony On the Budget Featured Blame-Shifting and Deceit on Everything from Junk Plans to Trump’s Proposed Cuts to Medicare

Is Congress In for More of the Same Tomorrow?

Washington, DC – In response to today’s dishonest testimony from Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on President Trump’s FY20 budget before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, Protect Our Care executive director Brad Woodhouse released the following statement:

“It’s no surprise that Trump’s HHS Secretary, a former pharmaceutical executive, would refuse to level with the American people at today’s hearing about the administration’s plans to terminate the ACA through the Texas lawsuit, sell junk insurance plans, and slash Medicare and Medicaid by over $2 trillion. Time and again, Secretary Azar refused to answer questions about the Trump budget’s deep cuts to Medicaid and Medicare or provide any evidence for his baseless claim about this administration’s interest in providing protections for people with pre-existing conditions.

“Make no mistake, Alex Azar is President Trump’s Field General in this administration’s war on American health care. Under his watch, the uninsured rate has increased, open enrollment has been sabotaged, junk insurance plans are poised to undermine Americans’ health care and thousands of people in states like Arkansas have lost coverage due to ridiculous (paper) work requirements. While Alex Azar has learned from his boss how to lie his way through direct question, the results of his policies speak for themselves: insurance and drug companies make out like bandits while the American people get the shaft.”

ashoup
In News

Good Riddance to the Least Successful, Most Anti-Health Care Speaker in American History

Washington, D.C. – This afternoon, Speaker Paul Ryan will give his farewell address at the Library of Congress. Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care, issued the following statement in response:

“Paul Ryan sat around a keg in college and dreamed of slashing Medicaid, tried to end Medicare as we know it as a Budget chairman, and tried to rip health care away from 23 million people by repealing the Affordable Care Act as Speaker of the House. As he leaves Washington, voters and legislatures across the country are expanding Medicaid; the public overwhelmingly rejected Ryan’s vouchers to upend Medicare, with the discussion today about how to strengthen and expand the program rather than end it; and despite his best efforts to repeal health care, kick tens of millions of people off of their coverage and end protections for those with pre-existing conditions, the ACA is more popular than ever, repeal went down in flames, and the Ryan-led effort to upend the American health care system swept his party from power in the House. There is no finer karma. Paul Ryan is perhaps the most anti-health care Speaker in American history – fortunately for the American people he was also the least successful and least competent. Good riddance.”

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In News

Kudlow Confirms: Republicans Intent On Dismantling Medicare

For weeks, Republicans have been misleading the American public — the truth is they have been trying to cut Medicare for years. Today, Larry Kudlow, Director of the National Economic Council, confirmed that they still have their sights set on Americans’ care. Asked when programs like Social Security and Medicare will be looked at for reforms, Kudlow replied, “Everyone will look at that — probably next year.”

Here are some ways they’ve already tried to undermine the program:

  1. Paul Ryan on Medicare: “It’s the biggest entitlement we’ve got to reform.” Paul Ryan, December 6, 2017: “We’re going to have to get back next year at entitlement reform, which is how you tackle the debt and the deficit…Frankly, it’s the health care entitlements that are the big drivers of our debt, so we spend more time on the health care entitlements…In- think the president is understanding that choice and competition works everywhere in health care, especially in Medicare…This has been my big thing for many, many years. I think it’s the biggest entitlement we’ve got to reform.”
  2. President Trump and Congressional Republicans are targeting Medicare and Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest. Last December, President Trump signed a $1.5 trillion tax bill that disproportionately benefits the wealthy. How do Republicans plan on paying for it? Speaker Ryan’s answer is clear: “Frankly, it’s the health care entitlements that are the big drivers of our debt.” In an attempt to pay for these tax cuts, in April, House Republicans passed a budget amendment that would slash Medicare funding by $537 billion over the next decade.
  3. Congressional Republicans proposed these cuts after passing a budget resolution last year that cut Medicare by $473 billion. The 2018 budget resolution passed by Republicans in December 2017 cut Medicare by $473 billion.
  4. As the cost of drugs skyrocket, President Trump and his Republican allies in Congress will not allow Medicare to negotiate for better prescription drug prices. Under current law, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is explicitly prohibited from negotiating directly with drug manufacturers on behalf of Medicare Part D enrollees. Although it would decrease both federal spending and beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs, a policy allowing the federal government to negotiate drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries was noticeably absent from President Trump’s recent prescription drug announcement.  
  5. Congressional Republicans have repeatedly attempted to transform Medicare into a voucher program, which experts warn would lead to the “demise” of the program. Speaker Ryan has spoken about turning Medicare into a voucher system, and in Fall 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services filed a Request for Information concerning a shift in a “new direction” for Medicare, which Senate Democrats worried might entail a voucher system. Experts warn, and Republicans including Newt Gingrich acknowledge, that such a shift would lead to the demise of traditional Medicare as premiums increase.
  6. Congressional Republicans repealed several components of the ACA designed to help keep Medicare’s costs down, effectively driving up costs for the program. By repealing the requirement that most people have insurance, Congressional Republicans knowingly voted for a measure expected to increase the number of uninsured. The 2018 Medicare Trustees Report predicts that this increase will increase the share of subsidies paid to hospitals via Medicare. Similarly, by repealing the Independent Payment Advisory Board, Congressional Republicans took away a mechanism that slowed Medicare cost growth.
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