| Big Pharma needs to be held accountable |
Dear John,
Do politicians in Washington really care that millions of Medicare beneficiaries are struggling to afford the lifesaving drugs they need? Let's make sure they do! If you haven't yet signed our Emergency Petition to Congress, please take a moment to do it right now. It could be one of the most important actions you take to help us rein in the power of drug companies to charge seniors whatever they want for the drugs they need. If you have already signed it: Thank you.
Now, please consider making a gift in whatever amount you can afford to help boost our crucial work to protect Americans' access to affordable prescription drugs and strengthen Medicare's financing! We couldn’t take on the powerful and well-funded drug industry lobbyists without loyal supporters like you.
Sincerely,
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Julie Lynch
Member Services Manager
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SIGN Our Emergency Petition to
Congress!
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Dear John,
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Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has unveiled a bold new piece of
legislation to lower prescription drug prices and bring much-needed relief to millions of Americans. But many House Republicans are rejecting it outright because they oppose any government negotiation of high drug prices, despite the fact that medications are not simply another consumer good like watches or cars. With no exaggeration, they are essential to Americans' health — and often mean the difference between life and death. Given the drug industry's patent monopolies and suppression of cheaper, generic medications, it has failed spectacularly to provide affordable prescription drugs to consumers, including seniors on fixed incomes.
The heart of Speaker Pelosi's legislation, called the "Lower Drug Costs Now Act" (H.R. 3), is allowing Medicare to negotiate directly with drug companies for lower drug costs. It would also tie U.S. drug prices to those paid by other wealthy countries and cap price increases to the rate of inflation. That's why I urge you to sign our Emergency Petition to Congress today and help us put pressure on every lawmaker to support this important bill now! John, as you know, Big Pharma has been steadily raising drug prices during the past two decades, in the absence of any government negotiation authority. Meanwhile, the drug industry's profits have soared, as has CEO compensation. The industry spends billions on lobbying and marketing — more than $6 billion for ads alone in 2018. Incredibly, our Director of Government Relations recalls that a pharmaceutical industry lobbyist at a health care reform gathering a few years ago was heard to say, "If people can’t afford prescription drugs, they should get loans."
It's a David vs. Goliath fight — that's why every American should be engaged in this effort to lower soaring drug costs and hold Big Pharma accountable for their callous drug pricing policies! So please, sign the National Committee's Emergency Petition right now! We need to remind every lawmaker what is at stake — the health and welfare of millions of Americans. Now is the time for Congress to step in and restore some fairness to the prescription drug market!
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| Sincerely, |
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Max Richtman
President & CEO
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