Asthma Relief: President Biden Lowers Inhaler Costs to $35/month
Drugmakers to cap cost of asthma inhalers at $35 per month
“New out-of-pocket price caps go into effect for the asthma medications from AstraZeneca and Boehringer Ingelheim… The moves mirror similar steps taken by insulin manufacturers last year following the passage of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.
The cost of inhalers, like asthma inhalers in the U.S. is much higher than in other wealthy countries. An investigation showed AstraZeneca charges $645 in the U.S. for the same inhaler it charges $49 for in the U.K. Teva Pharmaceuticals, another major inhaler manufacturer, charges $286 in the U.S. for an inhaler that costs $9 in Germany.” — NBC
How did President Biden slash prescription prices for millions of Americans? How does Big Pharma get away with price gouging? Who are the former Big Pharma lobbyists working for Mike Johnson? How much does Big Pharma donate to MAGA Republicans?
1. Insulin price capped at $35/month
“Jan 1, 2024: President Biden’s Insulin $35 Insulin price cap goes into effect, lowering costs for millions of Americans with diabetes. The price cuts will reduce the cost of the drug for most patients at $35 through either price caps or savings programs… Analysts, politicians and patient advocates have increasingly criticized drug manufacturers for the prices set for insulin.
Millions of people need the lifesaving medication. According to the American Diabetes Association, spending on insulin has tripled in the past decade to $22.3 billion in 2022, and the inflation-adjusted cost of the drug increased 24% between 2017 and 2022. A 2020 survey from the Pfiester organization found that 1 in 4 people with Type 1 diabetes rationed insulin because of cost. Patients also struggled to pay out-of-pocket for other supplies such as insulin pumps, testing strips and continuous glucose monitors. — USA Today
2. Allow Medicare negotiate drug prices directly with Big Pharma
“Today is the start of a new deal for patients, where Big Pharma doesn’t just get a blank check at your expense and at the expense of the American people,” said President Biden. “Big Pharma is charging Americans more than three times what they charge other countries simply because they could. I think it’s outrageous. That’s why these negotiations matter.” They are: Eliquis, Jardiance, Xarelto, Januvia, Farxiga, Entresto, Enbrel, Imbruvica and Stelara, as well as Fiasp and certain other insulins made by Novo Nordisk, including NovoLog.
The medications treat heart disease, certain cancers, diabetes and autoimmune diseases, among other conditions. Medicare enrollees paid a total of $3.4 billion in out-of-pocket costs last year, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Those who didn’t receive additional financial assistance shelled out as much as $6,500 on average. — CNN
3. Stop Big Pharma exploiting patents subsidized by American tax payers
Biden warns Big Pharma: Make your drugs cheaper or the US government will override your patents. He warned pharmaceutical companies that the government could override their patents. If the price of certain drugs is too high, the government could let rivals make cheaper versions. It’s a bold move called “march-in rights” that the US government has never used before.
“For the first time, ever, the high price of that taxpayer-funded drug is a factor in determining that the drug is not accessible to the public on reasonable terms,” said Biden domestic policy adviser Neera Tanden.
When the public invests heavily in a private company’s drug, it’s fair to question whether they should have to pay high prices for it, said William Pierce, a former HHS official during President George W. Bush’s administration.- Business Insider
4. Allow drug imports from Canada where drug prices are much less than in America
The F.D.A. announced that it would allow Florida to import millions of dollars’ worth of prescription medications from Canada, where they are available at far lower prices than in the U.S.
It could save up to $150 million in the first year of the program, importing medicines to treat H.I.V., AIDS, diabetes, hepatitis C and other conditions.
Until now, Americans could buy drugs from Canadian pharmacies, but states could not purchase them in bulk for Medicaid programs, government clinics or prisons. Florida is the first to earn approval. “These proposals must demonstrate the programs would result in significant cost savings to consumers without adding risk of exposure to unsafe or ineffective drugs,” Dr. Califf said. — NY Times
Big Pharma Lobbies Republicans To Restart Its Drug Price Gouging
“A Pharma Fox to Guard Johnson’s Hen House. Dan Ziegler, a Washington lobbyist counting among his clients PhRMA, Pfizer, Merck, Sanofi, Eli Lilly and Amgen, will join House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office as policy director. “It turns out that one of the biggest winners from the House Republican meltdown is Big Pharma. At a time when 90 percent of Americans are clamoring for more aggressive measures to clamp down on Big Pharma price gouging, the industry has managed to place one of their lobbyists as policy director in the Speaker’s office.” – Public Citizen
Who is Dan Ziegler? How could a MAGA shutdown of the Government impact drug prices? How much does Big Pharma spend on lobbying? How much do the top ten Big Pharma firms make? How much do their CEOs make? How has President Biden lowered the price of prescription drugs? How will the MAGA shutdown hurt you? Follow the money with this relationship map.
Big Pharma lobbying
“State lawmakers in Oregon have tried to lower high drug prices from nearly every angle: They’ve sought to cap how much people can pay for insulin, install a panel that could determine how much state agencies should pay for medicines, and even import drugs in bulk from Canada. Nearly every proposal has failed. One reason, at least according to the effort’s supporters: Two-thirds of the state legislature accepted at least one campaign check from the drug industry during the 2020 election cycle. The trade group PhRMA, alone, wrote checks to 43 of the legislature’s 90 lawmakers.” — Stat
Follow the Big Pharma money going to MAGA Republicans to keep price gouging
TakeAway: Vote for affordable healthcare and lower prescription drug prices. Vote for President Biden and Democrats.
Deepak
DemLabs
Image Credit: FreePik
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Mapping President Biden’s $35/month Insulin Price Cap
Zoom into the map for where you live. Use the search bar and type in your address. Or if you are using the map on a phone, then click on the COMPASS icon in the top left to find your location based on your GPS position. Check the COLOR CODE to see what the colors mean. You can even turn map layers on to see only the information you’re interested in. For instance you can turn off the SENATOR layer and that won’t show on the map.
Next click on any county to see the number of diabetics, and the MAGA Republicans who voted against President Biden’s Insulin Price Cap and how you can contact them. Just click on the phone number next to their name and the app automatically dials their phone number for you. Ask them why they voted against lowering the price of insulin?
This Map can be freely shared with this link https://arcg.is/r4bHG
or embed it in a website with this code: “<iframe width=“800” height=“600” frameborder=“0” scrolling=“no” allowfullscreen src=“https://arcg.is/r4bHG”></iframe>”
Reposted from Democracy Labs with permission.
