GOP Doctors Caucus Fights Against Democrats' Anti-Doctor, Anti-Patient Legislation

Statement

Today, the GOP Doctors Caucus co-chairs released the following statement after the House passed the Senate Amendment to H.R. 5376, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The health provisions within this reconciliation package will hamper innovation for new cures and place an increasing strain on our shrinking medical field.

"Each member of the GOP Doctors Caucus came to Congress with a desire to provide solutions to the many ailments plaguing our health care system. The so-called "Inflation Reduction Act' moves us away from reaching that goal by robbing Medicare to pay private insurance companies and non health related expenditures," said the Co-chairs. "We all support lowering prescription drug prices, but this approach will inadvertently encourage drug manufacturers to inflate launch prices and will leave patients with fewer treatment options at the pharmacy counter. It is estimated that if this legislation had existed in the past decade, only six out of 110 currently-approved therapies would have ultimately made it to patients. One lost cure is one too many.

"Additionally, it further cuts physician payments at a time when medical practices in rural and underserved communities already struggle to keep their doors open.

"We are disappointed as health care providers, lawmakers, and particularly as Americans, to see partisan interests placed over patient care. It seems Democrats are willing to sacrifice cures, treatments, and timely care instead of working on a bipartisan basis to lower drug costs for patients.

"After today's vote, we will have to explain to our constituents what could have been. We could have capped out of pocket costs in Medicare Part D without sacrificing innovation and new cures. We could have improved drug price transparency. We could have prevented medical practices from being unable to serve their communities. We could have passed H.R. 19, the Lower Costs, More Cures Act of 2021, with 36 bipartisan provisions that lower drug costs for seniors. Instead, the purported "Inflation Reduction Act' threatens to rob American patients of much-needed lifesaving treatments and cures."

The GOP Doctors Caucus opposed this budget reconciliation package by:

Sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi expressing our grave concerns with this package
Drs. Burgess and Murphy, supported by Drs. Wenstrup, Bucshon, Dunn, and Miller-Meeks, offered an amendment to remove physicians from the middle of negotiations between the government and drug manufacturers

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