|
Dear John,
As Congress inches closer to passing legislation that would include drug pricing reforms, big drug companies are playing hardball. The drug industry fears that allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices would cut into their sizeable profits.
Big Pharma knows how to “negotiate” and are twisting arms on Capitol Hill to ensure they retain the power to set drug prices at will — no matter how outrageous or unaffordable. Seventy-two U.S. Senators received contributions from Big Pharma in the last election cycle. That is not to say that Senators won’t do the right thing, but the sway of drug industry dollars can be powerful.
We are the only Western industrialized democracy that does not negotiate drug prices with manufacturers — or have an agreed upon pricing structure. Medicare negotiation would force the industry to the bargaining table with the federal government — saving some $456 billion in drug costs over ten years.
That savings could then be applied to expanding Medicare to include dental, hearing and vision care!
In the end, lawmakers’ priority should be the people on fixed incomes who can’t afford their medications, the Americans who have died from rationing medicines, and the retirees forced to choose between groceries and prescription drugs because of cost. They are the ones who badly need relief. Drug manufacturers will be perfectly fine — even if the price negotiation they dread is finally enacted.
Help us wage a winning battle to pass a final reconciliation bill in Congress that brings down seniors’ drug costs by chipping in one urgent gift today!
Sincerely,
|
2.png "tw"){kind=small}
