In his latest constituent email, Congressman Jody Hice sarcastically calls HR 3, passed by House Democrats in 2019, “the so-called Lower Drug Costs Now Act.” In fact, if passed, HR 3 would immediately bring down drug prices for you, the patient. And, that is why Hice and other conservatives in the pocket of Big Pharma do not support it.

  As usual, he doesn’t talk about the consumer-friendly provisions of the bill, simply slamming it because the Democrat controlled House passed it. Meanwhile, McConnell and the GOP Senate has passed nothing and refused to vote on HR 3 or to even address the issue.

  Currently, the USA has the highest drug prices of any major democracy. That’s why HR 3 mandates that DHHS (the Dept. of Health and Human Services) negotiate drug pricing with big Pharma. By law, under HR 3, the prices would be less than 120% of the average of the much lower prices currently paid by 6 advanced nations much like our own (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom).

  The lower prices would be for government programs like VA, Medicare and Medicaid. They would also apply to private insurance, driving down prices for the consumer (see https://www.com monwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2020/apr/lower-drug-costs-now-act-hr3-how-it-would-work).

  Manufacturers that refused to comply would be hit with sanctions, forcing them to participate.

The reality, as illustrated by the COVID-19 situation, is that the USA currently has one of the worst healthcare systems of any developed nation. High costs cause patients to delay treatment. Outrageous pharmaceutical prices create a situation where low income people cannot afford to take their prescribed drugs. That’s because the drug company’s money influences Hice and his fellow conservative legislators in Washington.

  Furthermore, Hice again misleads voters when he writes that under Trump, “drug costs on average have decreased for the first time in years.” Despite Trump constantly talking about lowering drug prices for the last four years, they have actually increased substantially (https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/ CUSR0000SEMF01). Using a BLS market basket of typical drugs, the base has gone from $486 in January of 2016 to $537 in August of 2020, an increase of over 10%.

  Suddenly, after having done nothing but talk for 4 years, Trump realized that he had to do something before the election, which he currently appears to be losing. So, instead of introducing legislation via McConnell in the GOP controlled Senate at any time in the last 4 years, in July he issued several Executive Orders. In our democracy, bills are constitutionally required to come from Congress. Aside from this fact, let’s look at Trump’s politically motivated orders (for more, see https://www.factcheck.org/ 2020/07/trumps-executive-orders-on-prescription-drugs/).

  First, he eliminates pharmacy benefit manager “rebates”. Without going into detail, both the CBO and Milliman accounting firm indicated that patient costs are just as likely to go up as down.

  Second, Insulin and Epinephrine for low-income patients are addressed. Once again, actual benefits are questionable.

  Third, drug importation from Canada for a small class of drugs. Again, the FDA questions if substantial cost savings would be obtained.

  As Factcheck.org states, “it remains to be seen how the orders will be implemented and whether they will result in such large reductions.”

  With polls showing his support among seniors at low levels and desperate for a PR victory before absentee voting commenced, in September 2020 Trump issued another limited Executive Order designed to tie Medicare drug pricing to that of other nations (https:// www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-pharmaceuticals/trump-says-he-has-signed-new-executive-order-to-lower-drug-prices-idUSKBN2640V0). Again, why wasn’t this done 4 years ago? Why didn’t he back the much more comprehensive bill coming out of the House versus deciding that he had the power to make a new law, a power reserved for Congress?

  So, as is so often the case with the showman in the White House, we have a lot of fanfare. But we have had few actual benefits generated for consumers.

  Jack Bernard was the first Director of Health Planning for Georgia and served two terms on the Jasper County Board of Health. He retired as a Senior Vice President with a national healthcare corporation. He is now a widely published, nationally known expert on healthcare reform.