FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, August 16, 2022
Contact: Linda Benesch, lbenesc
The Inflation Reduction Act is a Victory for Seniors — and a Defeat for Big Pharma
(Washington, DC) — The following is a statement from Alex Lawson, Executive Director of Social Security Works, on President Joe Biden signing the Inflation Reduction Act into law:
“Today is the beginning of the end of Big Pharma’s iron grip on Washington.
The Inflation Reduction Act is a critical step towards lower drug prices. It will ensure that Medicare beneficiaries pay no more than $2,000 a year for prescription drugs. It will stop pharmaceutical corporations from raising the prices they charge Medicare for drugs faster than the rate of inflation. At long last, it will give Medicare the power to negotiate lower prices on key prescription drugs.
With the passage of the IRA, the U.S. government now has the legal ability to determine a ‘fair price’ for prescription drugs. While that ability is currently limited to a few key medications, it can and should be expanded in the future.
Big Pharma threw everything they had — $100 million and 1,500 lobbyists — at stopping the IRA. They failed. Democrats in competitive races understand that Pharma money is toxic, and that the best way to win elections is to fight for lower drug prices.
This is Big Pharma’s first big defeat, but it won’t be the last. We will never stop fighting until everyone in America has the medications they need.”
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