The issue of high prescription drug prices is not a new problem for Americans. In 2020, they believed President Joe Biden could bring the change.
They believed when he swore to “put a stop to runaway drug prices and the profiteering of the drug industry.” The majority of them supported the Democratic Party that promised to reduce drug prices and out-of-pocket costs by “standing up to big pharmaceutical companies.”
And now Democrats in Congress are on the verge of passing a major bill – Build Back Better (BBB) – which could address the issue.
Politicians have repeatedly been promising to pass a bill that lowers the cost of prescription drugs, but they have not been able to rein in the pharmaceutical industry so far. Drug companies continue to make profits by increasing the cost of prescription drugs.
One study has found that between 2006 and 2018, the prices of more than 900 patented drugs doubled. A report from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) found that generic drugs, which are in the global market for over 20 years, were not immune from extreme price hikes either, according to TAPinto.net, a New Jersey-based news outlet.
Government funding contributed to more than 200 new drugs developed and approved by the FDA between 2010 and 2016.
Dr. Francis Collins, Director, National Institutes of Health (NIH), said, “NIH play(s) a very major role in the early stages of almost every drug that gets developed and approved by the FDA.”
People of New Jersey know better, as they are more affected by drug pricing. A recent poll found that 85% of the state residents believe that the cost of prescription drugs is too high. The poll also found that most of them are on board with Medicare negotiation, one of the provisions of the BBB bill, which could save Americans over $450 billion.
Last week, the Democrats of the House Oversight and Reform Committee released a report, which says that Medicare could have saved nearly $17 billion on three insulin products between 2011 and 2017. It would have saved that much money if it had secured the same discounts as other federal health programs get through negotiations.
