BMA: Pharma “Counteroffer” on Drug Pricing Relief Misses the Mark
Latest pitch from drug manufacturers would amount to a pharmaceutical industry giveaway and a missed opportunity to address seniors’ prescription drug cost burden
Washington, D.C. – Better Medicare Alliance (BMA), the leading research and advocacy organization supporting Medicare Advantage, responded today to continued stall tactics and a “counteroffer” from pharmaceutical industry lobbyists that delay meaningful relief for Medicare beneficiaries’ drug cost challenges.
“Prescription drug costs are the top concern we hear from our nearly 500,000 grassroots beneficiary advocates, and with good reason. While Medicare Advantage premiums are at a 13-year low, drug prices continue to climb – even during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Allyson Y. Schwartz, President and CEO of the Better Medicare Alliance. “Now, in the latest effort to delay meaningful accountability for drug manufacturers and relief for seniors, the pharmaceutical industry is pitching a ‘counteroffer’ that does little to address out-of-control list prices for prescription drugs that are set by drugmakers.”
Schwartz continued, “Without input from the full spectrum of stakeholders and public transparency, this plan relies on voluntary demonstration projects and self-policing for drug manufacturers while ignoring the serious proposals for comprehensive reform. This would be a missed opportunity for beneficiaries who are urgently in need of relief from high prescription drug prices. Seniors deserve better.”
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