Wyden, Cortez Masto Blast Billion Dollar Bailout for Big Pharma in Republican Budget Bill
As the Dust Settles from the Rushed and Reckless Passage of Republican Reconciliation Bill, Some of the Costliest Prescription Drugs, Including Cancer Treatments, Have Been Exempted from Medicare Negotiation for Years
Trump and RFK Jr.’s Hypocrisy Is on Full Display as Republicans Once Again Shower Big Pharma With Taxpayer Dollars While Seniors With Cancer Will Continue to Pay Thousands for Treatment
Washington, D.C. – Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., called out Trump and Republicans in Congress for sneaking a policy into their massive, deadly budget bill that weakens Medicare negotiation by exempting and delaying a growing number of expensive prescription drugs from the negotiation process, including many of the world’s best-selling drugs. As a result, many of these drugs will have negotiations delayed for years, if they ever are completed, while seniors and people with disabilities continue to pay thousands.
“Despite all your tough talk on Big Pharma, the only drug pricing policy the Trump Administration has actually enacted is a multi-billion-dollar bailout for some of the world’s biggest–and most expensive–blockbuster drugs and wealthy pharmaceutical corporations,” the senators wrote. “The cost of cancer medications like Keytruda is killing people who cannot afford treatment, causing bankruptcy, and forcing families of people stricken with cancer to face untenable choices between paying for medications and other vital needs. If you actually want to get serious about lowering drug prices, you should start by immediately calling upon Congress to repeal this Big Pharma bailout, which would save cancer patients and taxpayers billions of dollars in drug costs.”
H.R. 1 includes provisions that block or delay the Trump Administration from using Medicare drug price negotiation to lower the price of certain blockbuster drugs. The drugs impacted by this change include the top-selling cancer drugs in the world, such as Keytruda, Opdivo, Darzalex, and more. Many of these drugs, including Keytruda, would have been selected for negotiation early next year had Republicans not stealthily delayed these negotiations to line Big Pharma’s pockets.
Keytruda has been on the market since 2014 and typically costs around $150,000 to $175,000 per patient annually. In 2024 alone, Keytruda’s global sales exceeded $29 billion, making it by far the top-selling drug in the world. Medicare fee-for-service paid $5.5 billion for Keytruda in 2023, with seniors and other patients often burdened by thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses.
The full letter can be found here.
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