More competition means more reason to lower costs  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏
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Hello John,

‌

Prescription drugs can be expensive.


But there’s good news: The Food and Drug Administration is taking steps to
unleash one of the most powerful forces for bringing those prices down —
competition.

* In recent weeks, the FDA has issued new guidance aimed at making it easier
and more predictable for generic drug manufacturers to bring competing
medicines to market.
* The agency is also working to streamline approval of “complex generics” —
drugs that can be especially difficult and expensive for competitors to develop.
Why does that matter?


Because when more competitors enter the market, prices tend to fall.


Generic drugs already account for 9 out of every 10 prescriptions filled in
America. And FDA research has found that prices generally decline as additional
generic competitors enter the market.


It’s not hard to understand why.


When only one company sells a drug, patients have little choice but to pay the
price it sets. Introduce a competitor, and each manufacturer has an incentive
to offer a better price.As more competitors enter the market, the pressure to
lower prices grows.


That’s how competition works throughout the economy. And it can work in health
care, too.


Unfortunately, government policies can make it unnecessarily difficult for
that competition to take hold.


Developing a generic drug requires navigating a complicated FDA approval
process, with complex generics facing even greater regulatory uncertainty. And
the FDA itself acknowledges that some brand-name manufacturers have exploited
loopholes to delay generic competition and extend their monopolies beyond what
Congress intended.

‌

The result? Fewer choices and higher prices for patients.


That’s why the FDA’s recent actions are encouraging. Its Drug Competition
Action Plan is designed to:

* Streamline standards for complex generics
* Prevent tactics that delay generic entry
* Make the approval process faster and more predictable
* Maintain the same rigorous safety standards
It’s a fundamentally different approach from government price controls.


Price controls assume that politicians and bureaucrats are smarter than the
market and can determine what medicines should cost.That approach has never
worked.


Competition takes a different approach: Give multiple companies the
opportunity to offer patients a better deal.


And unlike government price-fixing, competition encourages companies to keep
finding ways to produce medicines more efficiently and deliver greater value.


There’s a larger lesson here for health care.


Too often, policymakers see high prices and immediately respond with more
government intervention. But before creating another mandate, regulation, or
price control, they should ask a simpler question:


Is there something preventing more companies from competing?


Whether it’s prescription drugs, hospitals, insurance, or primary care,
Americans benefit when government removes unnecessary barriers and gives
innovators the freedom to offer something better.


The FDA is taking steps in the right direction. Congress should build on that
progress. To get there, lawmakers should support reforms that ...

* Remove barriers to generic and biosimilar competition
* Bring more choices to patients
* Lower prescription drug costs through competition — not government price
controls
So please contact your members of Congress
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and tell them to support reforms that increase competition and lower your
health care costs.


Contact your lawmaker
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Best,



Dean Clancy
Senior Health Policy Fellow
Americans for Prosperity





Thank you for your continued support. Together, we’re ensuring every American
has access to the health care solutions they need. Stay tuned for updates on
how we’re making impact-driven changes possible.





Americans for Prosperity

4201 Wilson Blvd, Suite 1000

Arlington, VA 22203



This email was sent to:

[email protected]




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