Tennesseans deserve access to reliable, safe, and affordable treatment options. After more than four years since the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was signed into law under the Biden administration, it’s time for lawmakers to admit that the results are a disaster for the healthcare industry and patient access – along with long-term medical innovation and research and development.
Four years ago the IRA gave the federal government unprecedented control to set prices for certain Medicare prescriptions. Now it’s back for more. Earlier this year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a rule to expand that control. This new rule could give CMS the power to enact not just price controls, but how those controls apply to improved versions of existing medicines. New treatments require years of additional research, clinical trials, and eventually, approval from the FDA. This egregious proposal would wreak havoc on the pharmaceutical industry and could halt the production of future cures. Just think about that – the best cure for a disease like cancer might never be developed because the federal government has removed the incentive for the private sector to innovate.
Less government intervention, not more, leads to more competition over time and lower prices.
Recently, the FDA approved a cancer treatment that allows patients to receive medication directly through an injection instead of the lengthy process of using an IV infusion. For patients and families in the trenches of the fight against cancer, that is a life-changing improvement. It allows patients to spend less time in hospitals and clinics, and more time with loved ones. CMS’ proposed rule would subject this new treatment under the same government-negotiated pricing as the older treatment, rather than as separate medicines.
This rule could have disastrous consequences for current and future patients. If pharmaceutical companies know ahead of time that the years of trials, research, and approval would result in a fixed price below what they would need to charge in order to break even and recoup their costs, they may not move forward with development at all. This is exactly why the IRA’s drug-pricing provisions, and all government price controls, are doomed to fail from the start.
The good news is our federal lawmakers can still fix this. That’s why the entire Tennessee federal delegation must support repealing the Inflation Reduction Act’s drug pricing provisions. We cannot risk future cures for short-term savings that will actually harm patients in the long-term. It’s a matter of life and death.
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Nicole Smith is the president and founder of the Dignity Defense Institute. Â
