BIO Statement on the Administration’s
Drug Pricing Proposal
Washington, D.C. (October 25, 2018) - Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) President & CEO James C. Greenwood today issued the following statement after the Trump administration outlined proposed changes to the Medicare Part B program:
“Adopting foreign price controls on American innovation puts America’s patients last and diminishes their hope for a better future. Contrary to the president’s repeated promises to end ‘foreign free-loading,’ this proposal embraces it and exacerbates its harmful effects. By adopting foreign price controls on the very small number of innovative medicines that make it to market, this proposal will severely chill investment in new cures and therapies for America’s seniors.
“To make matters worse, the proposal continues a troubling trend towards undermining the Medicare Part B drug program. This program supports the sickest, most vulnerable Medicare patients and accounts for only a small fraction of all Medicare spending. BIO will strongly oppose short-sighted and harmful changes to a program that is so vital to the health and well-being of our seniors.
“Developing new medical treatments for seniors suffering from devastating diseases, such as cancer, Alzheimer’s and rheumatoid arthritis, is one of the hardest, riskiest, and costliest endeavors undertaken by America’s biomedical innovators. That is why BIO has repeatedly urged the administration to work with us on market-based reforms that will promote competition and lower drug costs, without harming our nation’s innovative ecosystem that leads the world in discovering new cures and treatments. It is deeply unfortunate the Trump administration has proposed pursuing a radically different approach.”
Note: Prescription drug spending under the Medicare Part B program accounts for less than 4 percent of all Medicare spending, according to the MedPAC June 2016 Data Book.
