Members who oppose H.R. 3 provisions are jeopardizing healthcare and siding with Pharma over their own constituents
WASHINGTON — Following the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s vote on a budget provision to allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, Health Care for America Now Executive Director Margarida Jorge released the following statement:
“Today’s Energy and Commerce Committee vote has shown which members of Congress represent their constituents and which prioritize more profits for Big Pharma. Drug corporations have been price-gouging patients, taxpayers and businesses for over a decade, with price increases that outpace inflation and put even basic medicines like insulin and Epi-Pens out of reach for millions. Americans spend more on prescription drugs than any comparable nation, paying double today what they paid in the 1990s.
“Empowering the government to negotiate down drug prices would not only lower costs for seniors on Medicare, but for Americans with private insurance and employers as well. It would save taxpayers over half a trillion dollars. Those savings could be invested in further making healthcare more affordable, expanding coverage in Medicare to include dental, vision and hearing for seniors and closing the Medicaid coverage gap for millions of people that have no access to coverage or medicine. A new poll out today shows that lowering drug prices and increasing affordability are the most popular provisions in Build Back Better.
“The three Representatives who voted no on this legislation today sided with Pharma over lower drug prices for their constituents, and created another hurdle for Democrats trying to deliver on the promises they have made for long-overdue reforms that will finally make healthcare affordable and accessible for everyone. We urge their constituents to contact these members of Congress and encourage them to reverse their position in the final bill.”
