May 24, 2021
Right now, the Biden administration is in the middle of selling its $2 trillion-plus infrastructure package, $1.8 trillion American Families Plan and a historically high 2022 federal budget to legislators. To pass many of these measures through a split Senate, Democrats are relying on the reconciliation process, which requires offsetting costs to avoid a filibuster. And while the President routinely touts that those making under $400,000 per year are safe from tax hikes, what he hopes you do not know is that taxes are not just confined to income levels and tax brackets. That money will come from somewhere, just not where you might think.
Currently lawmakers are looking to offset costs by overhauling Medicare. H.R. 3, Democrats’ signature healthcare legislation that failed to pass Congress last year but has no been recently reintroduced, would cap drug prices based on the average price paid by socialized countries abroad, while giving the HHS Secretary the power to leverage the federal government’s purchasing power to force concessions from pharmaceutical manufacturers. Not only does this legislation showcase a gross misunderstanding of America’s healthcare system, but it threatens to leave millions of vulnerable seniors out to dry.
In ways that are enormously beneficial to consumers, our free market system encourages competition that drives innovation and allows patients to access the drugs they need. By capping prices and punishing companies that don’t comply, profit motive evaporates, companies can no longer recoup investment costs and our world-leading supply of cutting-edge and lifesaving drugs dries up.
Bottom line? The government wants you to pay a health tax. Save costs now, but sacrifice your health—and that of future generations—down the road.
Vulnerable populations will be hurt the worst. Rare and chronic conditions require specialized treatments that can be more expensive. But under H.R. 3, the government would be given the power to reject more expensive drugs, kicking at-risk patients to the curb to control costs. Further, cost control measures would also reduce the quantity of available drugs. This means even longer lines for treatment and difficulty accessing potentially life-sustaining medicines.And that is before taking into account what would happen to patients who rely on a variety of options to treat similar conditions due to allergies, affordability and effectiveness.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, nearly 40 fewer cures would come to market over the next 20 years under H.R. 3. These could be next-generation breakthroughs for Alzheimers, Parkinsons or cancer—we have no way of knowing. It might not seem like it now, but attacking private innovators and inserting the government into the market now will mean we all pay the price later.
So where do we go from here? Lawmakers can start by not lumping serious healthcare issues under the umbrella of “infrastructure” or other unrelated spending packages. Next, we can look at solutions that will lower prices while delivering real savings to patients instead of forcing them to sacrifice access to the best healthcare system in the world. This means cutting unnecessary red tape, promoting transparency, supporting private sector innovators and reigning in middlemen so patients can realize more savings at the pharmacy counter.When the COVID-19 pandemic hit unexpectedly hard and fast last year, the government was forced to respond by pivoting to quickly implement these exact solutions. And they worked. Breakthrough vaccines reached patients more quickly than any other time in human history.
More transparency, less bureaucracy, a strong private sector and direct, streamlined savings are always effective and proven to benefit patients. We need only look at Europe to see why the anti-patient, anti-free market H.R. 3 legislation on the table right now would be anything but. Lawmakers must avoid dangerous price controls at all costs. After all, price controls are just taxes on your health—taxes that hit the most vulnerable the hardest.
