Drug Pricing Hearing Wrap Up: Oversight Republicans Promote Innovation and Drug Affordability & Accessibility
WASHINGTON—The House Committee on Oversight and Reform this week held a two-part hearing on lowering drug prices. At the hearing, Republicans highlighted the Trump administration’s actions to lower drug prices, House Republicans’ proposal to decrease drug prices, the importance of removing regulatory barriers to continue healthcare innovations and discoveries, and ways to improve drug affordability and access.
Democrats continued to push for more government mandates and intervention in the healthcare sector, which would only stifle innovation and prevent more cures and treatments from coming to the marketplace. Republicans emphasized the need to remove bureaucratic red tape to unleash more innovation and make more affordable, live-saving therapies available to the American people.
Below are key highlights from the hearing.
In his opening statement, Ranking Member James Comer’s (R-Ky.) noted how the United States’ fundamental principle of liberty has led to the greatest healthcare innovations in the past century and warned that Democrats’ proposals to expand government intervention will create barriers to competition.
“Many of the greatest healthcare innovations in the past 100 years have happened in America, and they have happened not because of government dictates but as a result of the tireless work of individuals having the freedom to experiment and compete and improve all of our lives.
“The problem is not that the free market has failed. Rather, the problem is that overly complex regulations and government interventions in the market have distorted incentives and created barriers to competition. I don’t believe that more bureaucracy is the answer. We must rethink regulations that distort prices and ensure that adequate competition happens in the marketplace.”
Representative Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) pointed out that without the U.S. free-market system, we would be less successful in our efforts to develop a COVID-19 vaccine.
Foxx: “If the United States had implemented the same drug price controls that many of our European allies have in the last few decades, would we be more or less likely to develop a vaccine for COVID-19?”
Teva CEO Kåre Schultz: “I would say you would be less likely simply due to the fact that the financial incentives would be less.”
Representative Jody Hice (R-Ga.) highlighted that under the Democrats’ partisan proposal to have the government takeover the pharmaceutical industry, there would be fewer medical innovations and less cures for deadly diseases.
“H.R. 3 really would completely gut the pharmaceutical innovations which we all so desperately need and rely upon. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office it would result in 38 fewer cures over the next 20 years. That’s a significant number. They also estimated said it would result in as many as 100 fewer cures from coming to the market…it could result in potentially a cure from deadly diseases like multiple sclerosis, or ALS, or Alzheimer’s, or even COVID-19. We don’t need to have cures that could potentially come to the market not coming to the market.”
Representative Chip Roy (R-Texas) laid out how Democrats play politics rather than take a comprehensive approach to make live-saving therapies more affordable and accessible for Americans.
“Let’s focus on solving the problem as a whole rather than vilifying certain actors. Let’s not play the game. The game in Washington is to clearly target one industry for political purposes. Of course, drug companies have plenty of blame to share for the high drug prices, but hardly all the blame. Let’s look at PBMs, Patent and Trademark Office, insurance companies, the FDA, hospital corporations, and of course federal and state government regulations.”
Ranking Member James Comer highlighted what role pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) play in unsustainable drug prices and the need to further examine their costly effects on pharmacies in order to lower drug prices.
“I don’t believe we can have a credible hearing on unsustainable drug prices without mentioning PBMs…PBMs are unnecessary levels of bureaucracy. According to every independent pharmacy in my congressional district, they have no rhyme or reason for the bills they send to the pharmacies. I think that’s something this committee needs to look into…and that’s an area where we can have bipartisan agreement in exploring what role they play in unsustainable drug prices.”
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