CBO NEARLY DOUBLES COST ANALYSIS FOR BIG PHARMA’S BLOCKBUSTER BAILOUT, FINDING SENIORS AND TAXPAYERS WILL PAY $8.8 BILLION DUE TO HIGHER DRUG PRICES

Armed with More Accurate Information on the True Impact of Pharma-Backed Policy That Will Keep Prices High on Top Money-Making Brand Name Drugs, Congress Must Act to Repeal the ORPHAN Cures Act

Washington, D.C. – The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing (CSRxP) released a statement Monday on a revised estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on the impact of The Optimizing Research Progress Hope And New (ORPHAN) Cures Act, a Big Pharma-backed policy that will help drug manufacturers keep prices high on blockbuster brand name drugs at the expense of seniors and taxpayers.

“The updated analysis from CBO confirms the ORPHAN Cures Act will saddle seniors and taxpayers with billions more in higher prescription drug spending by exempting blockbuster brand name drugs and helping Big Pharma keep prices high on their biggest money makers,” said CSRxP executive director Lauren Aronson. “Earlier this year, Congress passed this Big Pharma-backed rider without the right information on which brand name drugs would be impacted – or its true cost to the American people.”

“Subsequent analysis has shown the policy will impact blockbuster brand name drugs and help Big Pharma keep prices high on a whole category of products, amounting to a massive bailout at the expense of seniors and taxpayers,” Aronson continued. “Now that Congress is armed with more accurate information, lawmakers must remedy the situation by repealing Big Pharma’s blockbuster bailout.”

Key Facts on the ORPHAN Cures Act

The CBO’s updated analysis estimates that the ORPHAN Cures Act will cost $8.8 billion between 2025 and 2034, up from its original estimate of $4.9 billion.
CBO’s analysis now includes several blockbuster drugs including Johnson & Johnson’s cancer drug Darzalex, Merck’s blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s cancer drug Opdivo.
The Wall Street Journal first reported that CBO originally estimated the pharma-backed policy would cost seniors and taxpayers $4.8 billion in higher prescription drug spending, but “[t]he true tally of the new provisions could be far higher because CBO missed certain drugs such as Keytruda.”
An analysis published in Health Affairs in August by Jennifer C. Chen and Anna Kaltenboeck of Verdant Research stated there are at least 10 brand name drugs that could be impacted by the recently passed Big Pharma-backed provision and gross Medicare spending on these drugs in 2023 amounted to $13.8 billion, and nine of the 10 drugs that could be impacted are for certain forms of cancer.
A second analysis in Health Affairs also published in August by researchers associated with The University of Washington’s School of Pharmacy, identified at least 13 brand name drugs that could be impacted by the ORPHAN Cures Act. These 13 drugs, between Medicare Part B and Medicare Part D, had projected gross spending more than $33 billion in 2024.
The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) released an analysis and found at least 18 brand name drugs that could be impacted by the provision. These 18 drugs combined for $17.5 billion in Medicare spending in 2023.