Statement from Margarida Jorge, head of Lower Drug Prices Now – the leading campaign fighting to lower prescription drug prices – in response to Merck’s lawsuit against Medicare prescription drug negotiation:
This is nothing but a political stunt motivated by the same shameless greed that we’re used to seeing from drug corporations that have made decades of inflated profits at the expense of patients’ health and taxpayers’ hard-earned money.
No one needs to read Merck’s fancy lawyer talk or PR spin to know what this is all about – it is about them wanting to continue to fleece taxpayers and gouging seniors so they can keep sky-high profits and soaring executive pay.
For years Washington politicians talked about lowering the price of prescription drugs. President Biden and Congressional Democrats delivered on that promise by requiring negotiations in Medicare just like we have in Medicaid and the Department of Veterans Affairs. And this frivolous lawsuit won’t change that.
It’s time for big drug corporations like Merck to give up their monopoly control over prices and negotiate fair prices for the medicines we need.