In early May, President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order giving drug companies 30 days to lower their prescription prices or face limits on what the government will pay.
Wasting no time, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services took steps to reduce what it would pay for certain drugs under Medicare and Medicaid. It is the Trump administration’s effort to bring parity in consumer drug costs and make the U.S. “a most favored nation,” as Trump said, when it comes to pharmaceutical pricing.
Having spent decades in health care and community-based health care delivery to the frail, elderly and developmentally disabled, it is no secret what the astounding cost of prescription drugs has done to the overall cost of health care delivery.
And in my role in the state Legislature as chairman of the House Human Relations and Aging Committee, I have seen how high drug costs burden Georgia taxpayers.
Americans are paying way too much
When seniors have to pay out of pocket or high co-pays, far too many skip doses, take less than their prescribed medications or delay filling prescriptions to save money. The Journal of the American Medical Association recently found that 1 in 5 seniors don’t take their prescribed medicine because of cost.
These decisions can have life-threatening consequences or escalate to hospitalizations or more chronic illnesses. And they are not rare occurrences. It happens across our state and across the nation.
The unfortunate truth is that Americans pay more for prescription drugs than people of any developed nation, as highlighted in a bipartisan U.S. Senate hearing recently. Despite having approximately 4.5% of the world’s population, the United States leads the global pharmaceutical market with about 49% of the industry’s revenue, according to Yahoo Finance.
In 2022, a RAND Corp. study found U.S. prescription drug prices were, on average, 2.78 times higher than those in 33 other high-income countries.
For brand-name drugs, the gap is even worse, where U.S. prices are at least 3.22 times higher. In 2022, for example, Americans spent $1,564 per capita on prescription drugs compared to $294 in Mexico, $665 in the United Kingdom and $1,074 in Switzerland.
Credit: Anna Watkins
Credit: Anna Watkins
Trump wants competition and access
Opponents of Trump’s effort to reduce the cost of drugs in the United States say it will discourage more research and development of lifesaving drugs or innovative, breakthrough medications.
But our country’s patients have been footing the bill for the cost of that research and development while the entire world has benefited from the results of amazing pharmaceutical breakthroughs. Instead, all who use the drugs should underwrite the cost — thus level out the cost and make all consumers across the globe pay the same price for such drugs.
The president’s executive orders also prioritized competition. They propose accelerating the approval process for generic drugs and biosimilars, which are more affordable alternatives to expensive brand-name medications.
The sooner these other medication options enter the marketplace, the quicker prices will drop. The administration also directed HHS to allow states like Georgia, wholesalers and pharmacies to safely import lower-cost prescription drugs from other countries. This is an effort long blocked by the pharmaceutical lobby.
Pharmaceutical drug monopoly ‘has cost the U.S. dearly’
More than 70% of generic drugs used in the U.S. are manufactured overseas. The result has been chronic shortages, national security vulnerabilities and economic risk. We must restore American control of our medical supply chain, create jobs, and ensure a stable, affordable supply of essential medications.
All these efforts underscore a critical truth: The current monopoly system on pharmaceutical drugs has cost the United States dearly.
It allows pharmaceutical companies to prioritize profits over patients, and it leaves our citizens vulnerable to arbitrary price hikes and drug shortages.
Let me be clear — this is not a Republican issue or a Democrat issue. It’s not conservative or liberal. It’s an American issue.
The health and well-being of our citizens must come first.
Trump’s wonderful, pro-patient efforts will be loathed by Big Pharma for years to come. It is because of that Congress must act quickly and codify these actions and make them law. It is the only way to protect patients from lobbyists and big drug companies for years to come.
Rep. Jesse Petrea, a Republican state representative from Savannah (District 166), is chairman of the House Human Relations and Aging Committee. He also serves on the Special Committee on Healthcare.
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