On this edition of Your Call, we're discussing the Biden administration’s announcement of the first 10 prescription drugs selected for Medicare price negotiations.
The White House projects that the negotiations could save seniors $100 billion over the next decade, and reducing the cost of these drugs will help more than nine million people. Seniors paid $3.4 billion in out-of-pocket costs for these 10 medications in the last year.
Last year, top insurance company revenues reached $1.25 trillion, with profits reaching $69.3 billion in total, according to former Cigna executive Wendell Potter, who now advocates for healthcare reform.
Drug companies are suing to stop the price negotiations and keep high prices in place. What will it take to counter the powerful influence of the billion dollar pharmaceutical industry?
Guests:
Wendell Potter, president of the Center for Health and Democracy, former vice president of corporate communications for Cigna, and author of Deadly Spin: An Insurance Company Insider Speaks Out on How Corporate PR Is Killing Health Care and Deceiving Americans
Peter Maybarduk, access to medicines director at Public Citizen
Web Resources:
Center for American Progress: Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Will Help Millions of Seniors and Improve Health Equity
The Lever: The System Makes Patients Sick And CEOs Rich
The American Prospect: Who’s Running Big Pharma’s Last Stand Against Slightly Fairer Drug Pricing
The Nation: Biden’s Bold Move on Drug Prices Gives the GOP Two Choices: Change the Subject, or Lie
AP: 10 drugs targeted for Medicare price negotiations as Biden pitches cost reductions
The Intercept: Biden Administration Adds Insulin to Drug Price Negotiation List in Major Blow to Big Pharma
