Wednesday, May 27, 2020
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Yesterday, President Trump announced the White House had struck a deal with drug manufacturers to cap the price of insulin at $35 for diabetic Medicare enrollees. The Trump administration’s move, however, is nothing more than a political stunt designed to place a band-aid on a bullet wound. With more than 40 million people nationwide in need of affordable insulin, this proposal only does so for about 3 million Medicare-participating seniors.
The following statement is from Lower Drug Prices Now Campaign Director Margarida Jorge and Health Care Voter / Affordable Insulin NOW Campaign Director Rosemary Enobakhare:
“This proposal does nothing to make drug corporations lower prices. Capping costs won’t stop drug corporations from hiking prices— it just shifts who pays. Thanks to their monopoly power, drug corporations can continue to charge more and more for vital medications like insulin, while taxpayers foot the bill for Big Pharma’s price gouging.
This move is another political stunt from a President worried about his poll numbers with seniors as his broken campaign promises keep stacking up. Instead of tweaks and one-off proposals for political gain, we need to overhaul the system that gives drug corporations monopoly control over prices and instead put in place fair rules that ensure access and affordability for everyone.
Americans are tired of gimmicks and half-measures that protect Big Pharma’s profits while millions of us go without medicine. If President Trump were really on our side, he would follow through on his promise to make drug corporations negotiate for lower prices and block drug corporation’s monopoly power to set prices as high as they want. And he would stop handing over billions in taxpayer funding to the drug industry with no strings attached and no guarantee of affordability for patients.”
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About Lower Drug Prices Now
Lower Drug Prices Now is a national coalition of nearly 60 social, racial and economic justice organizations with members in all fifty states. We are committed to transformative, systemic and bold reforms to ensure everyone has access to affordable medicines — no matter where they live, what they look like or how much money they have. Learn more at ldpndev.wpengine.com and follow us on Twitter @peopleb4pharma.
About Affordable Insulin Now
Affordable Insulin NOW (a project of Health Care Voter) is a campaign aimed at holding politicians and pharmaceutical executives accountable and pushing for bold actions to address insulin pricing by sharing stories of patients who are struggling to afford treatment, and helping them advocate for changes to make insulin more affordable. We are mobilizing advocates to demand action on addressing the rising cost of prescription drugs for the millions of people whose lives are on the line.
About Health Care Voter
Health Care Voter is a nationwide campaign to mobilize people from across the country to hold President Trump and Republicans in Congress accountable for their efforts to repeal and sabotage the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Americans’ top issue is health care, but since the beginning of Trump’s presidency, the White House and a majority of Congressional Republicans have voted to strip health care away from millions of people. As a coalition of more than 40 progressive groups and grassroots organizations, Health Care Voters are fighting back to protect our health care and lower prescription drug prices.
