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OCASIO-CORTEZ BLASTS GOP FOR LETTING ELON MUSK KILL DRUG PRICING
REFORM  
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Alexis Sterling
February 28, 2025
Nation of Change
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_ She slammed the Republican Party for allowing Elon Musk to derail
bipartisan drug pricing reforms, calling the move a clear example of
oligarchic control over American politics. _

, Image Credit: Screenshot from CNN

 

In a fiery speech before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on
Wednesday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) slammed the
Republican Party for allowing Elon Musk to derail bipartisan drug
pricing reforms, calling the move a clear example of oligarchic
control over American politics.

The proposed reforms targeted pharmacy benefit managers
(PBMs)—middlemen in the pharmaceutical industry who have been
criticized for inflating prescription drug costs and driving small
pharmacies out of business. While the legislation enjoyed
near-unanimous support in Congress, it was abruptly dropped from the
December budget bill after Musk publicly opposed it on social media.

Ocasio-Cortez directly linked Musk’s Twitter intervention to the
bill’s sudden collapse, highlighting the billionaire’s outsized
influence over Republican lawmakers and public policy.

Ocasio-Cortez detailed a timeline that showed how Musk’s
opposition—posted online in the middle of the night—led to the
bill’s rapid downfall.

_“Republicans are in support, Democrats are in support — so what
happened?”_ she asked during the hearing.

_“Well, on December 15th, at 4:15 in the morning, Elon Musk began
firing off a barrage of social media posts opposing pharmacy benefit
manager reform,”_ Ocasio-Cortez said.

In the hours following Musk’s tweets, Republican leadership dropped
the PBM reforms from the budget bill, even though lawmakers across the
political spectrum had previously backed the measure.

_“We had nearly 435 members on board with it—he sends one tweet,
and all of a sudden, everyone backs off,”_ she continued. _“And
it kills drug pricing reform that would save people money on their
insulin, on their asthma inhalers—everything that they need.”_

WHAT ARE PBMS, AND WHY DO THEY MATTER?

PBMs are powerful, largely unregulated entities that negotiate drug
prices between pharmaceutical companies, insurers, and pharmacies.
While they were originally designed to lower drug costs, they have
been widely criticized for actually driving prices higher by
prioritizing profits over patient care.

Federal regulators have scrutinized PBMs for years, finding that their
opaque pricing practices inflate prescription costs for consumers and
push independent pharmacies out of business.

Last year, lawmakers worked across party lines to develop a
long-awaited reform package that would have placed tighter regulations
on PBMs, increasing transparency and potentially lowering drug costs
for millions of Americans.

However, despite broad support from patient advocates, healthcare
experts, and even members of the GOP, the bill was blocked at the last
minute—just hours after Musk complained about it on social media.

Ocasio-Cortez mocked Musk’s ignorance of the issue, pointing out
that after his intervention derailed the bill, he admitted that he
didn’t even know what a PBM was.

_“And then, to kick it off, five days after he kills pharmacy
benefit manager reform, we get this tweet from Elon Musk: ’What is a
“pharmacy benefit manager?”’”_ she said.

The revelation underscored what Ocasio-Cortez described as a dangerous
concentration of power in the hands of unelected billionaires—who,
despite their lack of expertise, are now deciding major U.S. policy
decisions.

Ocasio-Cortez warned that Musk’s ability to single-handedly sway
congressional decisions represents a serious threat to democratic
governance.

_“The problem here isn’t a substance issue, it’s not a process
issue—it’s an oligarchy issue,”_ she said.

_“Whether you’re a Democrat or you’re a Republican, everyone
here was elected to be accountable to the people of the United
States—not to be governed by tweet, but to be governed by their duly
elected representation.”_

The lawmaker then challenged Republicans who had previously supported
PBM reform to prove that they serve their constituents—not
billionaires like Musk.

_“So I would love a commitment from our Republican counterparts, who
we agree with on this issue, to just put it on the floor. And let us
vote for it,”_ she said. _“And we can actually get a result for
the American people by booting this guy out from political
influence.”_

While Musk publicly claimed he opposed the PBM reforms because the
budget bill was too long and contained too much “pork,” critics
argue that the move was really about protecting pharmaceutical
industry profits.

PBMs operate at the intersection of Big Pharma, health insurers, and
corporate lobbying, and any effort to reform their practices directly
threatens the industry’s financial interests. By caving to Musk’s
objections, Republicans ultimately protected a system that allows drug
prices to remain high—at the expense of everyday Americans.

Despite the setback, the fight to regulate PBMs is far from over.
Ocasio-Cortez’s call for a new vote on the reforms puts pressure on
Republicans to explain whether they stand with patients or
billionaires.

_Alexis Sterling is a seasoned War and Human Rights Reporter with a
passion for reporting the truth in some of the world's most tumultuous
regions. With a background in journalism and a keen interest in
international affairs, Alexis's reporting is grounded in a commitment
to human rights and a deep understanding of the complexities of global
conflicts. _

_At NationofChange, our mission is to help people create a more
compassionate, responsible, and value-driven world, powered by
communities that focus on positive solutions to social and economic
problems. We strive to accomplish this mission through FEARLESS
JOURNALISM combined with BOOTS-ON-THE-GROUND ACTIVISM in order to
create real-world, actionable strategies for change._

* drug prices
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* Elon Musk
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* Republican Party
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* Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
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