Tell your Members of Congress and the White House: Lower the cost of prescription drugs!
Call BOTH of your Senators.
Call ONE of the Representatives. Note: only one of these Congressmembers represents you. Find out which one here.
Contact the White House via their comment line or web form.
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Call Script
My name is __________. I am a constituent, and my zip code is _______. I am a member of Indivisible SF.
I urge you to stand firm and continue fighting for robust provisions in the Reconciliation Bill to lower prescription drug costs through Medicare-negotiated prices, add dental and vision benefits to Medicare, and expand access to home- and community-based care through Medicaid.
The Reconciliation Bill should:
Allow Medicare to directly negotiate drug prices
Allow drug importation from Canada
Limit the ability of drug companies to hike prices on existing drugs
Impose a cap on out-of-pocket spending for the Medicare prescription drug benefit
Speed approval of biosimilar and generic drugs & shorten the exclusivity period
It’s also imperative that you include in the Reconciliation Bill a provision that authorizes the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to issue and enforce common sense orders and directives, such as eviction moratoriums, in a national public health emergency to slow the spread of infectious disease.
Background
Prescription drug prices in the U.S. are more than 250% times higher overall than those in 32 other major countries. Meanwhile, Big Pharma is doing great: their profits are almost double the average for non-pharmaceutical companies (13.8% vs 7.7%). We’re the ones being forced to foot the bill for their gravy train.
BigPharma claims that reducing the costs we and the government pay for prescriptions will hinder and slow innovation and research on new treatments. Hogwash! Compared to other industries, their profits are obscenely high. They’re not going to stop bringing new profitable products to market just because their profits are reduced by a tiny fraction.
BigPharma claims that negotiating prices like everyone else in the world amounts to price controls and that’s (gasp!) a step towards socialism. That’s just the same old blarney they shrieked about Obamacare: Healthcare rationing! Death panels! Horrors! They wailed the same nonsense about Medicare and Medicaid, Social Security, and government regulation of food and drug quality and purity.
References
White House plan backs Medicare drug price negotiation
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/571478-white-house-plan-backs-medicare-drug-price-negotiation
Comprehensive Plan for Addressing High Drug Prices, HHS
https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/2021-09/Drug_Pricing_Plan_9-9-2021.pdf
How Would Drug Price Negotiation Affect Medicare Part D Premiums? Kaiser Foundation
Drug Plan Fails, Signaling Thorny Path for Democrats’ $3.5 Trillion Bill
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/15/us/politics/democrats-drug-pricing.html
Democratic Divisions Flare Over Tax Increases and Drug Pricing
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/14/us/politics/democrats-taxes-drug-pricing.html
U.S. Drug Prices Much Higher Than in Other Nations, WebMD
Drug majors most profitable industry sector, report finds, The Pharma Letter
https://www.thepharmaletter.com/article/drug-majors-most-profitable-industry-sector-report-finds
Profitability of Large Pharmaceutical Companies Compared With Other Large Public Companies