Socialist Economic Policies Are Not the Solution for Lowering Prescription Drug Costs By Senator James Lankford (R-OK) We all agree drug prices are too high and that something must be done. Where we may disagree is on how to bring down prescription drug prices.
I’ve worked for years to unwind the bloated prescription drug cost structure, including fighting back against unfair practices used by the pharmaceutical industry, so patients can pay less and we can still have drug innovation.
I’ve strongly fought against the price gimmicks used by pharmaceutical companies and pharmacy benefit managers to drive up costs for consumers and taxpayers.
But I don’t believe in socialist economic policies that allow government to take over operations at drug companies and set their prices. There’s a reason most new breakthrough drug innovations come from the US, not Europe.
Working to decrease drug prices shouldn’t be a partisan issue. It’s a goal we all share. But the way we solve the problem matters.
It’s an easy political shot to say anyone who doesn’t believe in government price controls for drugs must be for high drug prices, but that ignores the real-life consequences of price controls. The price of milk and eggs is also way too high right now, but does anyone think the price and supply of milk and eggs would be better if the government ran the operation and set the prices?
The drug price control provisions in the Democrats’ so-called “Inflation Reduction Act,” don’t take effect until 2027—five years from now. The bill empowers whoever the president is in five years to pick the final price on a handful of drugs. If a drug company disagrees with the price the government sets, the president can raise taxes on that company to 95 percent.
A threat of a 95 percent tax rate on a company forces them to obey whatever order they’re given by the government, effectively taking over the company. This puts politics into drug prices and will create a rush to attack companies that don’t have political favor.
People hate paying high prices for drugs, but they’re grateful for the remarkable innovation that has led to treatments for millions of Americans and billions of people around the world with cancer, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis, and countless other diseases.
Without question, drug price controls will crush drug companies that the government doesn’t like and discourage large-scale private investment in drug innovation, leading to fewer cures, fewer drug options, and limiting drug access for senior adults on Medicare.
Unintended consequences in drug availability will matter to the people who can no longer access the treatment their doctor chooses. The best way to bring down drug prices is to increase competition by allowing existing low-cost drugs like generics to get to patients, not through overreaching federal mandates.
