I applaud the executive order President Trump signed in May aimed at balancing the scales for the cost of prescription medications here vs. what others pay abroad. As the executive order points out, “The United States has less than 5% of the world’s population and yet funds around three quarters of global pharmaceutical profits.” It simply isn’t fair that Americans are shouldering the bill for the rest of the world; and, ultimately, it’s Big Pharma’s anti-competitive actions that are to blame.
The Wall Street Journal confirmed that Big Pharma controls the cost of prescription drugs and charges Americans more than 3 times for the same drugs as other wealthy nations. While some of this money is funneled back into research and development, way too much is spent on drug advertisements and executive compensation. As the article summarizes, “… some of the money devoted to overpaying for drugs just leads to better profit margins for pharma.” This is a practice that needs to end.
There are commonsense reforms that Congress can implement now to make prescription drugs more affordable and accessible for Americans. One example is reining in direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising practices, which allow Big Pharma to advertise prescription drugs — often less effective brand-name drugs — to consumers. And what’s worse, the companies get a tax break for doing it. The No Handouts for Drug Advertisements Act was introduced in Congress in May. A bipartisan bill, it would end federal subsidies for pharmaceutical company advertising.
I encourage Pennsylvania’s members of Congress to support the No Handouts for Drug Advertisements Act. It’s time for reform that will stop Big Pharma from taking advantage of Americans.
Patricia Tylka
Mt. Lebanon