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Sen. Brown among lawmakers going after Big Pharma's prices

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, smiles as he speaks with guests prior to an economic roundtable discussion at Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, N.H., Friday, Feb. 8, 2019. Sen. Brown is weighing a run for in 2020 presidential race. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

KEITH ARNOLD
Special to the Legal News

Published: February 19, 2019

A quartet of federal lawmakers has decided to go after the industry known as Big Pharma in new legislation announced recently.

The Stop Price Gouging Act would hold drug companies accountable for large price increases and should result in billions of dollars in savings for taxpayers, Democrat Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York said in joint press release.

The pair jointly sponsor the bill in the Senate, while Democrat Reps. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio and Mark Pocan of Wisconsin plan to introduce companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The price hikes, they say lead to price spikes for patients who rely on medication to treat diseases ranging from cancer to addiction.

In addition to requiring drug companies to report increases in drug prices and justify such increases, the bill would penalize drug companies that engage in unjustified price increases with financial penalties proportionate to the price spike.

"The purpose of medicine is to help people, not to line the pockets of Big Pharma executives," Brown said in a prepared statement. "Too many hardworking Americans still struggle to afford the medicine they need, and often, the culprit is price gouging by big pharmaceutical corporations.

"It has to stop."

Under current law, pharmaceutical corporations can increase the price of their products without justification.

The Affordable Care Act, enacted under a previous Democrat-led congress in which both lawmakers cast votes in favor of the measure, was criticized widely for its giveaways to Big Pharma.

The lawmakers view the legislation as a part of their larger effort to bring down the cost of prescription drugs for Americans.

Any revenues collected through the Stop Price Gouging Act would be reinvested in future drug research and development at the National Institutes of Health, the bill outlined.

Americans spent an all-time high of $360 billion on prescription drugs last year, the lawmakers said.

Nearly a third of Americans polled by Consumer Reports said they had experienced a drug price hike in the past year, paying an estimated $2 billion more for a drug they routinely take.

"We must stand up to pharmaceutical companies that are more worried about lining their own pockets and bolstering profits for Wall Street investors than making sure patients can access the life-saving medications they produce," Kaptur said. "As policymakers, we must shine a light on price gouging. The predatory pricing practice must stop. The health and well-being of millions of Americans depends on it."

Brown, who hasn't ruled out a run for his party's nomination for the presidential race next year, also has championed the Medicare Negotiation and Competitive Licensing Act to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices.

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