Big Pharma Spends Big to Undo Cost-Saving Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare Drug Price Negotiation

PHOENIX — Major pharmaceutical corporations are spending millions on Capitol Hill to lobby members of Congress to strip Medicare of its power to negotiate prescription drug prices, a key cost-saving provision from the Inflation Reduction Act.

Despite the provision’s overwhelming popularity—with 77% support overall, including 71% of Independents and 64% of Republicans—Congressman David Schweikert voted against the Inflation Reduction Act, and Congressman Juan Ciscomani said he would have opposed the law had he been in office when it was voted on.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer:

“The drugmaker [Merck] is stepping up its advocacy in Washington, too. It spent $8.2 million on federal lobbying through September — the most it has spent in the first three quarters since 2012, according to data compiled by OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan watchdog that tracks money in politics…

“Prescription drug prices are much higher in the U.S. than in other democracies such as Japan, Canada, and France.

“Because of the cost, about two million adults 65 and older did not get needed prescriptions in 2019 — a problem that was more acute among people with chronic diseases such as diabetes, according to research by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services...

“The [Inflation Reduction Act] authorized the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to negotiate prices directly with manufacturers of a relatively small number of prescription drugs covered by Medicare that do not face generic or biosimilar competition.

“Congressional Republicans have expressed interest in repealing the law’s drug pricing program, among other provisions. That outcome seems possible if the GOP wins control of Congress and the White House in the 2024 elections.

“In recent election cycles, Merck’s political action committee has favored Republicans at the federal level. Its PAC gave about $300,000 to GOP committees in the 2022 elections, more than twice what it gave Democrats, according to OpenSecrets.”

“Big Pharma is counting on Republicans like Schweikert and Ciscomani to do their bidding: repealing Medicare negotiation and raising costs for everyone else,” said Andrea Moreno, executive director of Honest Arizona. “Congressmen Schweikert and Ciscomani should look out for seniors, people with disabilities, and those with chronic health conditions like diabetes in Arizona who need lower costs for the medications they rely on. Instead, they’re ready to roll back or eliminate policies that lower drug costs so they can pass more tax cuts for corporations and the ultra-wealthy.”

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