Wisconsin Examiner – 1/23/20
OPED by Robert Kraig, ED of Citizen Action Wisconsin
The Hill – 1/16/20
The health insurance industry is donating big to Democrats even amid criticism of the industry and growing calls for “Medicare for All” from the progressive wing of the party.
“Big Pharma rang in the new year with a gift to itself: higher prices and bigger profits on over 200 prescription drugs. Drug corporations are congratulating themselves for keeping most hikes under 10 percent, but let’s be clear: for most hard working Americans, the household budget isn’t growing by 10, or even five percent this year. The upshot? Another year of higher co-pays and out-pocket costs, and another year of having to choose between taking on debt or paying for drugs we need.”
“President Trump’s proposal to import prescription drugs is a poor substitute for real reforms that would guarantee everyone affordable medicine and stop Big Pharma’s price gouging. Instead, Trump’s plan does nothing to fix our fundamentally flawed system.”
By Margarida Jorge and Frank Clemente
The newly passed House bill allowing Medicare negotiations on drug prices is a first step toward taming Big Pharma and broader corporate abuse.
Last week’s House vote to rein in skyrocketing prescription drug prices was overdue. Now it’s up to the Senate and President Donald Trump to take action.
Today’s bipartisan vote to pass the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Prices Now Act is a critical step in helping more patients get the prescription drugs they need to be healthy. For the first time ever, this law would give the government the power to negotiate lower drug prices for millions of seniors and people with disabilities covered by Medicare and people with private insurance coverage.
By BEN JEALOUS
If enacted, H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Prices Now Act, would, for the first time, give the government the power to negotiate lower drug prices for millions of patients enrolled in Medicare, and millions more with private insurance. The stakes are huge: Not only would this save Medicare $500 billion over the next decade, these savings would be used to expand benefits to include dental, vision and hearing coverage and help low-income seniors pay out-of-pocket costs.
