Obama to Fight for Lower Drug Prices?
posted Mon, 31 Jan 2011President Obama made some statements late last week in a YouTube interview that we at RxRights found both surprising and heartening. He proposed two solutions to the problem of overpriced prescription drugs: giving the government the ability to negotiate prices with drug companies and prescription drug reimportation.
While it’s hard not to be skeptical about whether or how the President will back up these words with action, we have to give him some credit. Statements in support of reimportation and price negotiation could have serious political ramifications for the President in the next election cycle, as Big Pharma shifts its support to candidates that would preserve the pricing status quo and thus, their exorbitant profits.
When running for office, Obama inspired us with his courageous promise to take on powerful pharmaceutical companies. But once elected, Obama seemed to drop that challenge. And as many of you already know, the Administration quietly made a back room deal last year with big pharmaceutical companies in order to pass health care reform.
In any case, we find hope in the President’s words. Some promising legislation pertaining to prescription drug pricing have just been introduced in Congress, including:
Representative Ron Paul’s Prescription Drug Affordability Act
Senator Al Franken’s Prescription Drug and Health Improvement Act
We’ll be curious to see whether the President’s statements match his actions in the coming months as these and other related bills work their way through Congress. The President can be sure we will be watching!
To see the President’s statement about prescription drugs, go to the video (28:58).
Lee Graczyk, RxRights