President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders
As President of the United States and Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, we have long been concerned about the outrageous prices the pharmaceutical industry charges the American people for prescription drugs.
There is no rational reason why Americans, for decades, have been forced to pay, by far, the The highest prices in the world for the prescription medications they need.
There is no rational reason why, for decades, 1 in 4 Americans has been… Unable to pay for it the medicine that their doctors prescribe them.
And it is certainly not the patriotic duty of Americans to pay high prices for drugs at home so that others abroad can enjoy them. fair prices to which every American has a right.
That is why, over the past few years, working together, we have made substantial progress.
As a result of the Inflation Reduction Act that was passed in Congress without a single republican voteSeniors with diabetes pay no more than $35 a month for insulinStarting in January, no senior in the United States will pay more than $2,000 a year for prescription drugsAnd for the first time in history, Medicare is now doing what every other major country is doing: negotiating with pharmaceutical companies to lower the price of some of the most expensive drugs in America.
This common-sense policy is one with which the American public overwhelmingly agrees, including more than 60% of Republicans.
By working with some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, we’ve also been able to reduce the cost of the inhalers that millions of Americans with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease need to breathe, from as little as $645 to $1,000. Only $35.
We are very proud of these achievements. The U.S. government is finally standing up to big pharmaceutical companies, but much more needs to be done to reduce the unaffordable price of prescription drugs.
We plan to expand negotiations on drug prices
What does that mean?
This means that at a time when many Americans are facing a myriad of chronic diseases, no one in our country should be forced to pay more than $2,000 a year for the prescription drugs they need – not just seniors. This also means that the number of prescription drugs whose price is subject to negotiation should be expanded to at least 50 a year. We are working together on legislation to do just that. We hope that every member of Congress will support this legislation.
But let’s be clear: It’s not just Congress that needs to act. Pharmaceutical companies that sell prescription drugs also need to stop ripping off the American people.
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Let us give you an example, one of the most important: today, tens of millions of Americans suffer from type 2 diabetes and obesity.
The good news is that Novo Nordisk, one of the largest companies in the world leading pharmaceutical companieshas created new blockbuster drugs, Ozempic and Wegovy, that effectively treat these conditions.
Obesity drugs are too expensive
The bad news is that Novo Nordisk is charging Americans exorbitant prices for these prescription drugs. If your doctor prescribes you a GLP-1, the prices for Ozempic and Wegovy can be as high as six times greater than prices in Canada, Germany, Denmark and other major countries. That is unacceptable.
And it’s not just Novo Nordisk. Eli Lilly is also charging exorbitant prices for Mounjaro, a drug with similar health effects to Ozempic. That cost is about $1,100 per month.
Why should people in Burlington, Vermont, pay so much more than people in Copenhagen or Berlin for the same drug? The truth is that people in Paris, Texas, should not pay so much higher prices for Ozempic and Wegovy than people in Paris, France.
These inequalities become even more apparent when one examines the profit margins of these companies. For example, in March, a study by researchers at Yale University concluded that these drugs could be Cost-effectively manufactured for less than $5 a month, or $57 a year.
Novo Nordisk scientists deserve a lot of credit for developing Ozempic and Wegovy. These drugs have the potential to be game-changers for people around the world battling type 2 diabetes and obesity. But as important as they are, they will be of no benefit to the millions of patients who cannot afford them.
What’s more, if the prices of these drugs are not substantially reduced, they have the potential to bankrupt the American health care system.
We will not allow that to happen.
If half of obese adults took Wegovy and other new weight-loss drugs, it could cost $411 billion a year — $5 billion more than Americans spend worldwide. Prescription drugs on the pharmacy counter in 2022.
If half of all Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries who are obese took Wegovy and other weight-loss drugs, Medicare and Medicaid could spend $166 billion per year, a figure that rivals what the two federal health programs spent on all retail prescription drugs in 2022.
This is neither morally nor fiscally responsible.
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Let’s be clear: Year after year, while so many Americans struggle to afford the medicines they need, the pharmaceutical industry rakes in huge profits. In fact, 10 of the top pharmaceutical companies made more than $110 billion in profits last year.
In 2023, for example, Novo Nordisk earned more than $12 billion in profitsin part by charging Americans more than $1,000 a month for a prescription drug that can be profitably manufactured for less than $5. That’s not generating a reasonable return on investment. That’s price gouging. That’s corporate greed.
Now, drug companies will claim that Americans may end up paying lower prices than they charge for their drugs because they rely on opaque discounting mechanisms run through middlemen. But these non-transparent tactics prevent payers from understanding how much drugs really cost, reducing their negotiating position.
The pharmaceutical industry will also argue that even if actual prices are exorbitantly high, lowering them would reduce innovation and make it less likely that innovative drugs like Ozempic will be developed in the future. But reaping the rewards of innovation is not in fundamental conflict with fair prices for consumers or helping as many people as possible.
If Novo Nordisk and other pharmaceutical companies refuse to substantially reduce prescription drug prices in our country and end their greed, we will do everything in our power to stop them. Novo Nordisk must substantially reduce the price of Ozempic and Wegovy.
As Americans, we must not rest until every person in our country can afford the prescription drugs they need to live healthy, happy, productive lives.
Let’s move forward together.
Joe Biden is the 46th President of the United States. Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
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