About The Campaign
Prescription drug prices are out of control – and older Americans are feeling the financial pain at the pharmacy counter. Prices for the most commonly prescribed drugs for seniors have increased ten times the rate of inflation since 2013. Medicare beneficiaries pay thousands of dollars a year in out-of-pocket drug costs they can’t afford. Some seniors have been cutting pills in half or outright skipping doses of lifesaving medications. Others are forced to choose between medicine and essentials like rent and groceries. Meanwhile, Big Pharma rakes in record profits. That’s not acceptable in the wealthiest nation on Earth.
The “Don’t Cut Pills, Cut Profits” campaign is committed to ending prescription price gouging by holding drug-makers and elected leaders accountable, with the help of millions of seniors around the country. The campaign includes town halls, voter education, petition drives, and outreach to Members of Congress to support legislation that will reduce drug costs. Join the fight to lower prescription prices now.
Useful Reading
U.S eyes battle with drug giants over 10 costly medications for seniors
The Biden administration is set to announce the first targets for price negotiation, part of a broader attempt to lower seniors’ health-care costs in the Inflation Reduction Act.
On the First Anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, Millions of Medicare Enrollees See Savings on Health Care Costs
One year ago, on August 16, 2022, President Biden signed into law landmark legislation to lower health care costs for millions of Americans, known as the Inflation Reduction Act.
Big Pharma’s legal fight to stop cheaper Medicare drugs, explained.
The drug industry is now launching a legal fight aimed at stopping Medicare’s negotiations over prescription drug prices before they begin.
Senior citizens won’t pay more than $35 a month for insulin as new drug provisions kick in.
Senior citizens and other Medicare enrollees can now get a break on the cost of their insulin. They won’t pay more than $35 a month for each insulin prescription that’s covered by their Medicare Part D plan.
How To Get Away With Corporate Murder: Unbundling And Disrupting Pharmacy Benefit Managers
New incentives led to a new business model, a shift from administrative transaction revenue to retaining rebates from pharmaceutical manufacturers. The new business model led to increased profitability, but also questions about the business practices of PBMs.
J&J, Amgen, Regeneron Drugs Likely to Face Medicare Negotiation
Drugs that have been on the market for years and reap billions of dollars in sales from Medicare alone are poised to be on deck for price negotiation.
Drug Pricing Pushback Goes Into Overdrive
The bill would not cut anything but Big Pharma’s profits. The Democrats’ drug pricing portion of the reconciliation package is estimated to save the federal government nearly $288 billion over 10 years.
Mark Cuban’s Pharmacy Startup is Actually Making Drugs Less Expensive. It’s Still Working on Solving the Real Problem
In an ideal world, Cuban’s pharmacy would shake up the entire pharmaceutical industry and drive down the costs of all drugs across the U.S. But experts say that Cost Plus Drugs’ impact is limited, at least for now, because it hasn’t broken into the market driving those exorbitant prices: brand-name drugs.
5.3 million Medicare beneficiaries struggle to afford meds, study finds
About 3.5 million Americans ages 65 and older and 1.8 million Medicare beneficiaries younger than 65 had difficulty affording their medications in 2019.
Why prescription drug access should be treated as a racial justice issue.
There’s a growing awareness of the many reasons people of color experience poor health outcomes, including the stresses of racism itself. But one area of racial health disparity isn’t often discussed: the lack of equitable access to prescription drugs.
Half of Voters Support Plan to Let Medicare Negotiate Drug Prices
56% of voters support allowing the federal government to negotiate some prescription drug prices in general, while 50% are in favor of the measure in congressional Democrats’ budget reconciliation bill.
Big Drug Companies’ Billions in Profits Haven’t Stopped, Even in a Pandemic
Pharmaceutical firms are unveiling their Q2 earnings right now, and America’s largest drug manufacturers are flexing their muscles
Laws for Prescription Drug Brokers Could Soon Have Teeth
Buoyed by a major, unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruling, some states are pressing ahead with efforts to rein in one of the most obscure—but also most potent—players in the prescription drug supply chain.
With Antitrust Emerging as Key Concern on Capitol Hill, Drug Pricing Comes to the Fore
Senators Grassley and Cantwell want the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether the health care giants that own the biggest pharmacy middlemen are using their market power to drive up the cost of drugs and diminish access to care by driving out competing pharmacies.
Rep. Katie Porter Hammers Abbvie
Watch the YouTube video.
Petition
PetitionAdd your name to the growing list of citizens who want their members of Congress to take action on the high cost of prescription drugs.
Fact Sheet
Fact SheetA quick look at the key stats and facts that can help explain why prescription prices are so high.
Broadcasts
BroadcastsSoaring prescription drug prices are hurting America’s seniors. Older Americans living on fixed incomes can’t afford ever-increasing costs at the pharmacy counter. Some have been cutting pills in half or skipping doses altogether. The National Committee is on radio and television spreading the message that prescription drug prices must come down – for the sake of seniors and Americans of all ages!
Legislation
LegislationWhich bills in the 116th Congress would do an effective job of helping to lowering drug prices?
Toolkit
A compilation of resources for you or your local community group to help focus attention on the issue and stimulate positive change.