OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

To Deliver Relief for Patients, Use Existing Tools: Statement on HHS Plan

Statement

Date: Sept. 9, 2021
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Health and Health Care

Today, U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Chair of the House Ways & Means Health Subcommittee, released the following statement reacting to the Health and Human Services (HHS) plan on drug prices released this morning:

"While acknowledging that President Biden already has legal authority to immediately rein in Big Pharma monopoly abuses, this plan includes no commitment to exercising that authority. Just the threat of competitive licensing and taxpayer protection tools would bring manufacturers to the table, as we saw in 2001 when President Bush threatened to license Bayer's anti-anthrax drug. Just the threat of licensing under Section 1498 then resulted in cutting the drug price in half. As I recently urged, together with Senators Warren and Klobuchar, President Biden should use available and effective tools today to deliver meaningful relief to millions of patients. Relying solely on a narrowly divided Congress to withstand Big Pharma's big lobbying and big campaign contributions will not produce the help that so many American families desperately need."


Source
arrow_upward