For decades, big pharma has owned Congress.
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John,

Why are drug prices outrageously high? Corruption.

Most of it is legal corruption, but what else do you call millions of dollars spent bending the political system for personal benefit?

Pharmaceutical corporations have an army of lobbyists working to increase prices. In 2018 alone, the industry spent between $170 and $284 million on lobbying, with between 839 and 1,468 registered lobbyists, more than any other industry.1

Every minute of these lobbyists’ day and every cent of these millions is spent with a single goal in mind: Keep drug prices as high as possible for as long as possible.

No comparable behemoth is fighting back on behalf of patients and families.

On November 15, Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced a plan to fix that: the Prescription Drug Affordability and Access Act. Booker’s legislation, which is co-sponsored by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Kamala Harris (D-CA), would create a new independent agency, the Bureau of Prescription Drug Affordability and Access.

At the introduction of his bill, Senator Booker said:

“Every day, millions of Americans struggle to afford their lifesaving medication while the manufacturers of these drugs profit hand over fist with limited to no oversight. On top of that, many of these drugs were developed through research funding from the federal government. We need systemic change that will meaningfully address the exorbitant, rising cost of prescription drugs and put the focus back on patients, not profits.”

Chip in $7 to fund Social Security Works’ fight to pass this essential bill and other legislation to lower prescription drug prices!

The Bureau of Prescription Drug Affordability and Access would have powerful tools to lower drug prices. It would require pharma corporations to provide key information to the Bureau every time they release a new drug or try to increase the price of an existing drug by more than the rate of inflation.

These factors will include the cost of research and development, any taxpayer dollars that contributed to the creation of the drug, and what price they are charging for the drug in other countries.

The Bureau will then pinpoint a list price for the new medication based on those factors. If the pharma corporation refuses to comply with that price, the Secretary of Health and Human Services would revoke the government-granted patent monopoly on the drug and give other companies the right to produce cheaper generic versions.

Booker and his co-sponsors deserve credit for listening to the American people. In recent polling Social Security Works conducted with Data for Progress, voters supported revoking the patents of pharma companies who set prices too high—even after hearing pharmaceutical industry counterarguments.2 Three in ten Republican voters even support the policy despite being told it is being pushed by Democratic politicians. Allowing the government to negotiate lower prices with pharmaceutical companies enjoys even stronger support.

We’ve done a lot in a short period of time to change the conversation in Washington around prescription drug prices. Standing together, we’re going to do even more. Chip in $7 today!

At a time when prescription drug prices consume more and more of Americans’ Social Security benefits, big pharma is a threat to our Social Security system. It’s time to treat them like one.

For decades, big pharma has owned Congress. Drug prices are going up every single year. But the anger of the American people is rising as well. We are demanding fundamental structural change to take on big pharma’s greed. The Prescription Drug Affordability and Access Act answers that demand.

Thanks,

Alex Lawson
Social Security Works


1 https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/industries
2 https://www.dataforprogress.org/memos/polling-on-pharmaceutical-policy


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