Brindisi Working to Rein in High Prescription Drug Prices

December 4, 2019 by Dan McCue
Brindisi Working to Rein in High Prescription Drug Prices

WASHINGTON – Rep. Anthony Brindisi, D-N.Y., knows the stories all too well.

Time and again during town halls and community events in his district, he’s heard the first-hand stories of hardworking families who’ve had to choose between paying for a loved one’s life-saving medicine and putting food on their table.

“I heard from one woman whose cancer medication cost $30,000 every few months,” the congressman told The Well News.

“This is unacceptable and highlights the fact that Congress needs to act,” Brindisi said.

The representative has proposed legislation to help bring down the overall cost of health care, general, and prescription drug costs, in particular.

Earlier this year, Brindisi reached across the aisle and worked with Republican Rep. John Joyce, of Pennsylvania, to introduce H.R. 2455, also known as the “Ensuring Timely Access to Generics Act.” 

The bipartisan bill mandates steps the Food and Drug Administration can reduce the time it takes for generic drugs to come to market. 

Brindisi’s legislation would give the agency the ability to deny petitions if the primary purpose of the petition is to delay the drug’s transition to the generic marketplace.

“I think we need to take a holistic and systemic approach to high drug prices in a way that lowers costs for patients and protects innovation,” he said, explaining his approach to the issue.

“I am supportive of many pieces of legislation that will get more affordable generic drugs to market, cap out-of-pocket costs for seniors, and provide stricter oversight of pharmaceutical companies and the middle-men who take a cut from patients,” Brindisi said.

“I wish this bill had more bipartisan buy-in and I am hopeful that my friends on the other side of the aisle will buy-in to some of these common-sense reforms,” he said.

Brindisi is co-chairman of the moderate Blue Dog Coalition, which last month endorsed and called on Congress to take up a series of prescription drug pricing bills that they believe, if taken up individually, could pass a Democratic-led House and a Republican-led Senate.

These included measures that would prohibit pharmaceutical companies from engaging in anti-competitive conduct that blocks lower-cost generic drugs from entering the market, and would reward manufacturers for challenging weak patents and bringing new generic drugs to market.

“The further left you go with drug pricing bills, it just means it’s only going to be a House-only bill and a Democrat-only bill,” Brindisi said at the time.

He also said he’s communicated that message to “to leadership and anyone who will listen around here.”

Of course, any action on prescription drug prices by the 116th Congress, will have to occur against the backdrop of impeachment and the looming presidential campaign.

Despites the odds against being able to reach both bipartisan and bicameral consensus on the issue, Brindisi said he is unbowed.

“I do think it is possible [to get this done],” he said. “Bringing down the cost of prescription drugs is an issue that goes beyond partisan politics. It might take a grand compromise between the House, the Senate, and the President, but the American people want this to get done and every elected official should be listening to their constituents.”

As for timing, Brindisi added confidently “there’s always time to get good, common-sense legislation done.”

“The simple fact is, Congress needs to act and work together to bring down costs. Bringing down the cost of prescription drugs is good policy which makes for good politics,” he said.

A+
a-
  • Anthony Brindisi
  • prescription drug prices
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Prescription Drugs

    Biden and Harris Team Up for Health Care Event in North Carolina

    WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will promote their health care agenda on Tuesday in... Read More

    WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will promote their health care agenda on Tuesday in North Carolina, a battleground state that Democrats hope to flip in their favor after falling short to Donald Trump in the last two presidential elections. Fourteen... Read More

    March 13, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    FDA Believed Poised to Approve First Med for a Serious Liver Disease

    WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration appears poised to approve the first medicine developed specifically to treat the serious... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration appears poised to approve the first medicine developed specifically to treat the serious liver disease known as MASH later this week.  Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis -- formerly known as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis — is often associated with obesity. In patients who... Read More

    March 6, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    Health Care, Drug Prices to Be Cornerstone of State of the Union

    WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s plans to do more to lower prescription drug prices and ensure the nation’s health care... Read More

    WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s plans to do more to lower prescription drug prices and ensure the nation’s health care system works better for more Americans will be the centerpiece of his State of the Union address, the White House revealed Wednesday. In a conference call... Read More

    March 4, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    Judge Rules Against Drugmaker in Price Negotiation Lawsuit

    WILMINGTON, Del. — A federal judge in Delaware ruled against the pharmaceutical and biotech company AstraZeneca last Friday in a... Read More

    WILMINGTON, Del. — A federal judge in Delaware ruled against the pharmaceutical and biotech company AstraZeneca last Friday in a case challenging the constitutionality of Medicare’s new drug negotiation program. The case is one of several filed by the pharmaceutical industry and its allies and the... Read More

    March 1, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    CVS, Walgreens to Begin Selling Abortion Pills Later This Month

    WASHINGTON — The nation’s two largest pharmacy chains will start dispensing the abortion pill mifepristone in select states later this... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The nation’s two largest pharmacy chains will start dispensing the abortion pill mifepristone in select states later this month, just weeks before the Supreme Court is set to hear a case that could lead to its removal from the market. The decision by both... Read More

    February 22, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    House Democrats Launch Inquiry Into Nationwide Drug Shortages

    WASHINGTON — Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability are pressing some of the nation's largest drug manufacturers... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability are pressing some of the nation's largest drug manufacturers for answers on why there are still intermittent and repeated shortages of cancer meds and other drugs. Led by Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the ranking member... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top