CSRXP: PRESIDENT SHOULD FOCUS ON HOLDING BIG PHARMA ACCOUNTABLE TO LOWER RX PRICES, ABANDON REBATE RULE

Tweet Misstates Impact of Misguided Rebate Rule That Would Do Nothing to Lower Drug Prices, While Increasing Medicare Premiums

Washington, D.C. – The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing (CSRxP) issued a statement Sunday in response to tweet chain from the president announcing he signed an executive order tying drug prices to those paid in other countries and pointing to the administration’s reboot of a plan to eliminate drug rebates in Medicare Part D.

“The president should focus on holding Big Pharma accountable to lower prescription drug prices and abandon the Pharma-backed Rebate Rule,” said CSRxP executive director Lauren Aronson. “Despite recent claims from the president, the administration’s own actuaries say the Rebate Rule would do nothing to lower drug prices but would increase premiums on Medicare Part D beneficiaries, cost taxpayers more than $200 billion and hand Big Pharma a more than $100 billion bailout.”

Get The Facts on the Rebate Rule

The Rebate Rule undermines the president’s drug pricing agenda and a plurality of Americans oppose the Rule’s implementation:

• The Rebate Rule is the Achilles Heel of the President’s Drug Pricing Agenda: A recent survey, conducted by the president’s own campaign pollster, found voters support the president’s executive actions on Most Favored Nation and drug importation are popular, but that voters are far more skeptical of the Rebate. When voters learn the Rebate Rule would increase Medicare premiums, cost taxpayers billions and increase drug company revenue, a 48 percent plurality of voters oppose the Rule. (McLaughlin & Associates, Voter Attitudes on President Trump’s Executive Orders on Prescription Drug Prices, 8/17/20)

• Do Nothing To Lower Out-Of-Control Prescription Drug Prices: Government actuaries predict drug manufacturers will keep at least 15 percent of what they would have offered in rebates, in order to offset their increased share of covering the Medicare Part D “donut hole” as outlined in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. Further, actuaries forecast drug prices increasing before finally leveling off, but do not foresee prices decreasing. (Center For Medicare & Medicaid Services Office Of The Actuary, Memo On Proposed Safe Harbor Regulation, 1/31/19)
• Hand Big Pharma A $137 Billion Bailout – Rewarding Drug Companies’ Price Hikes And Anti-Competitive Tactics: Government analysis finds that under the rule, Big Pharma will keep the dollars they currently pay in rebates and use the rule as an opportunity to line their own pockets with an increased $137 billion in overall drug spending – a bailout rewarding their anti-competitive and price-gouging behavior — at a time when the industry is already receiving billions of dollars in support for research and development of COVID-19 treatments and vaccines. (Center For Medicare & Medicaid Services Office Of The Actuary, Memo On Proposed Safe Harbor Regulation, 1/31/19)
• Increase Premiums On American Seniors And Patients With Disabilities By Between 25 and 40 Percent: Analysts at the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Avalere Health all agree that under the Rebate Rule, Medicare Part D premiums would increase between 25 and 40 percent. (Center For Medicare & Medicaid Services Office Of The Actuary, Memo On Proposed Safe Harbor Regulation, 1/31/19; Congressional Budget Office, Incorporating The Effects Of The Proposed Rule On Safe Harbors For Pharmaceutical Rebates In CBO’s Budget Projections, 5/2/19; Avalere Health, Costs for Taxpayers Could Skyrocket Under Proposed Rebate Rule, 4/8/19)
• Cost American Taxpayers Between $200 Billion and $400 Billion Dollars: Analysts at the CBO, CMS and Avalere Health all agree the proposed rule would come at a tremendous cost to American taxpayers, with a price tag ranging from nearly $200 billion to more than $400 billion from 2020 to 2029, making it one of the most expensive regulations in U.S. history. (Center For Medicare & Medicaid Services Office Of The Actuary, Memo On Proposed Safe Harbor Regulation, 1/31/19; Congressional Budget Office, Incorporating The Effects Of The Proposed Rule On Safe Harbors For Pharmaceutical Rebates In CBO’s Budget Projections, 5/2/19; Avalere Health, Costs for Taxpayers Could Skyrocket Under Proposed Rebate Rule, 4/8/19)