Congress Answering Americans’ Call To Action On Drug Pricing

The momentum in Congress to act on out-of-control drug prices will continue to build tomorrow, February 12, with a U.S. House Ways and Means Committee hearing entitled, “The Cost of Rising Prescription Drug Prices.”

This hearing, the third held by the new Congress on drug pricing, reinforces the strong, bipartisan interest in Washington to answer the call of the American people to pursue concrete solutions to price gouging from brand name pharmaceutical companies.

A poll released by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, in the runup to the 2018 midterm election, found 88 percent of Americans believed lowering drug prices should be a priority in the 116^thCongress.

The urgency of the issue and increased activity in Congress has generated new and significant attention from newspapers and influential media outlets around the country – and in the home states of key leaders on committees of jurisdiction.

National Headlines on Big Pharma’s Price Gouging:

• “Drug-Pricing Overhaul Efforts Ramping Up On Capitol Hill” – Bloomberg, 1/28/19
• “On Both Ends Of Capitol, Both Parties Warn Big Pharma On Drug Prices” – The New York Times, 1/29/19
• “Democrats Examine Drug Prices, A First Step In Congress’ Path To Cut Prescription Costs” – USA Today, 1/14/19
• “Congress To Drug Makers: Why Stock Buybacks Over Lowered Drug Prices?” – The Wall Street Journal, 12/6/19
• “Congress And Trump May Actually Take Action In 2019 To Lower Drug Prices” – The Washington Post, 1/7/19
• “As Congress Returns, Lawmakers Rush to Detail Drug-Pricing Agendas” – STAT News, 1/9/19

House Ways and Means Committee Home-State Headlines:

• Representative Richard Neal (D-MA), Chairman, House Ways and Means Committee
  • “Some Diabetics Making Tough Choices As Insulin Prices Spike” – Boston Herald, 9/10/18
  • “Prescription Drug Costs Driven By Manufacturer Price Hikes, Not Innovation” – WBUR 90.9 News, 1/7/19
• Representative Kevin Brady (R-TX), Ranking Member, House Ways and Means Committee
  • “Prescription Drug Costs Driven By Manufacturer Price Hikes, Not Innovation” – Texas Public Radio, 1/7/19
• Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Chairman, Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health
  •     “Doggett Seeks To Tamp Down Prescription Drug Prices” – Austin American-Statesman, 2/7/19
  • “With Democrats At The Wheel, Doggett’s In Position To Steer Drug-Price Legislation” – San Antonio Express-News, 11/23/18
• Representative Devin Nunes (R-CA), Ranking Member, Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health
  • “For Drug Companies, Making Shareholders Happy Is More Important Than Treating The Sick” – Los Angeles Times, 1/8/19

The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing (CSRxP) is hopeful that these timely hearings in both chambers of Congress will lead to more bipartisan, market-based solutions to lower drug prices and offer much-needed relief to American patients and families struggling to afford their medications.