Bloomberg Government – 7/14/20
Groups pushing for Congress to restrict what drugmakers can charge for Covid-19 vaccines and medicines said Democrats should go further than only trying to make them free. “If Congress doesn’t take away monopoly control over prices,” companies will still be able to hike prices and charge Medicare, Medicaid and insurers “exorbitant prices that get shifted to the rest of us” through premiums and taxes, said Margarida Jorge, campaign director for Lower Drug Prices Now.
“Senate Democrats are absolutely right: Americans need affordable COVID vaccines and treatments. And we’re glad that they’re pushing to use the government’s purchasing power to negotiate a ‘fair price’ for patients. But as long as drug corporations retain monopoly power to set and keep prices high, taxpayers will continue to foot the bill behind the scenes even if patients aren’t paying at the point of service.”
Yahoo News – 7/13/20
“There’s been little action in Congress on the one thing that actually could get things back to normal: ensuring an affordable COVID-19 vaccine that could curtail the spread of the disease. The first step is obviously the investment we’re already seeing to create the vaccine, but the second step is just as important: regulation and accountability to ensure that medicines we’re paying to develop are accessible to all.” — Margarida Jorge, Marketwatch
“Operation Warp Speed continues gambling away billions in taxpayer dollars. The Trump Administration, which is filled with former Pharma execs and lobbyists, just handed over another $1.6 billion to Novavax, a drug corporation that’s never successfully brought a product to market.”
Des Moines Register – 7/6/20
LTE by Logun Buckley, Alliance for Retired Americans, Waterloo
“This news serves as a reminder that as the White House continues to hand over billions in taxpayer dollars for a coronavirus vaccine without a guarantee of affordability, Big Pharma continues to focus on its profits not patients,” said “American taxpayers are co-owners of this potential vaccine, but it’s only Moderna that’s reaping the profits — we foot the bill while they line their pockets.”
