The Unacceptable Cost of H.R. 3—It Must Be Rejected
The Council of Economic Advisors just came out with a new analysis of H.R. 3, the “Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019.”
This bill seeks to lower prices for certain drugs by forcing drug manufacturers to accept prices set by the federal government or otherwise…
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Speaker Pelosi: Pass USMCA Before Session Slips Away!
Over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, we passed a milestone: It’s now been over one year since President Trump signed the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on trade—over a year! The holdup: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi…
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Speaker Pelosi, Pass the USMCA before It’s Too Late!
Time is running out for Congress to approve the USMCA, and some members of Congress are expressing frustration with the leadership. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), previously optimistic about passage, has said he is now concerned about ratification of the USMCA…
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Speaker Pelosi, it's time to throw American innovators a lifeline
Most people probably agree that there should be protections against the criminals who pirate films, violate patents, plagiarize books and counterfeit artworks. Time and again, we have heard stories about imitations coming from overseas. Thus, it is especially important that American innovators…
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Please, Speaker Pelosi, Don't Give Foreigners an Open Invitation to Steal Our Intellectual Property!
Word on the Hill is that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi might be trying to strip the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) of its Intellectual Property chapter. Yet one of the greatest benefits of the USMCA over its precursor, NAFTA, is that it strengthens intellectual property protections for American innovators.
Here are some of the comparisons:…
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Thank Sen. John Thune for Standing with Patients over Politics
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has proposed a sweeping prescription drug bill that would hurt patients and stifle innovation. Her bill, H.R. 3, would impose crushing taxes…
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Call Congress to Oppose H.R. 3, Pelosi’s Draconian Drug Bill
In the upcoming days, committees in the U.S. House of Representatives will discuss H.R. 3, Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s radical prescription drug pricing bill that would impose a tax of up to 95 percent (!) on hundreds of prescription drugs. This draconian bill would also…
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A Mini Deal Is Better Than Stalemate
On Wall Street, stock and commodity prices climbed immediately, suggesting that the president’s optimism over the prospect of a deal with China was infectious. Indeed, many on Wall Street and across the country were waiting eagerly to hear positive news come from the talks with China after weeks and even months of stalemate…
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“Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Through Promoting Competition Act” = “Unavailable Prescriptions for Patients Through Killing Innovation Act”
Last week, U.S. Rep. David Cicilline of Rhode Island introduced the “Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Through Promoting Competition Act,” which could more accurately have been named the…
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Pelosi's prescription drug 'negotiations' would harm Americans and benefit China, Russia
In the 1980s, European investment in drug research was 24 percent higher than in the United States. But then, European officials decided to impose socialist price controls. Today, European investment in drug research is 40 percent lower than American investment is…
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Reject H.R. 3 as an Existential Threat to Millions of Americans
Last week, a memo highlighting key elements of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s long-awaited drug price negotiation bill (“H.R. 3”) was leaked through Bloomberg Law. The bill might be changed before official introduction, but its draft form is extreme. We have the following concerns…
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G7 Message: Move Quickly toward the Certainty of Trade Peace
The message out of the just-concluded G7 meeting in France: Uncertainty is holding us back—all of us. This uncertainty stems from the Trump Administration’s capricious trade wars.
It is bad enough that America is engaging in trade wars in the first place, and the seeming whimsy with which…
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To Avert Recession, End the Trade Wars
The world economy is showing signs of weakness, and many analysts are predicting a recession. There are plenty of signals to support the predictions. According to Bloomberg, China reported the weakest growth in industrial output since 2000; Germany’s economy shrank as exports slumped; and euro-area production plunged the most in more than three years as the overall expansion cooled…
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Congress Should Use August Recess to Finalize USMCA
The United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) presents a much-needed update, better showcasing a modern approach to trade with the U.S.’s closest trading partners, Canada and Mexico. When it comes to “winners” and “losers” in a trade agreement, the USMCA represents a significant win for the United States.
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Ransacking Foreign Medicine Cabinets Is a Bad Prescription for U.S. Healthcare
Trump Administration’s “Safe Importation Action Plan” Is Downright Dangerous
On July 31, the Trump Administration announced the “Safe Importation Action Plan” that would allow for the importation of prescription drugs from foreign markets: 1) States, wholesalers, or pharmacists could develop pilot projects to facilitate the importation of certain drugs from Canada; 2) manufacturers could reroute certain versions of FDA-approved drugs originally sold in foreign markets back into the U.S. at lower prices. This is bad plan.
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Government-Imposed Inflation Rebates Are the Wrong Way to Lower Medicare Part D Costs
Rumored proposals being considered in Congress would institute a government-imposed inflation rebate on Medicare Part D medicines, which would put the program’s successful market-based structure at risk. For seniors who rely on the program to access innovative medications, this is unacceptable…
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Senator Rick Scott Jumps into the Race to the Bottom on Global Drug Index Pricing
Recently, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) introduced S. 977, the “Transparent Drug Pricing Act.” This bill is another attempt to curb prescription drug prices by starting a race to the bottom. S. 977 would prevent pharmaceutical companies from charging a retail price for a drug that is higher than the lowest cost for the same drug found in five other countries: Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom (U.K.). This scheme links drug prices on prices paid in a handful of countries with socialized medicine, where government bureaucrats undervalue and tightly ration access to lifesaving drugs developed here in America. It’s a ridiculous, dangerous idea that flies in the face of the President’s promise to unleash free market forces into the health care industry, and put a stop to decades of exploitation of U.S. intellectual property by foreign governments.
Trade Alliance to Promote Prosperity Urges Opposition to S. 977, the Transparent Drug Pricing Act
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Takeaways from Galen Institute’s “Examination of International Drug Pricing Policies in Selected Countries Shows Prevalent Government Control over Pricing and Restrictions on Access”
The Trump Administration has proposed using its demonstration authority under the Social Security Act to test a method of reimbursement for physician-administered drugs (Medicare Part B) based on prices in 14 countries.
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HHS Secretary Azar and Sen. Bernie Sanders Lead "Race to the Bottom"
“A race to the bottom” that nobody wins. That might be the best way to describe a hastily drawn, Bernie Sanders-inspired “International Price Index” scheme by Health & Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar to base U.S. Medicare Part B drug prices on prices paid in a handful of countries with…
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TAPP Joined 54 Other Conservative Groups
TAPP joined 54 other conservative groups today and signed onto a coalition letter in opposition to HHS International Pricing Index for Medicare Part B Drugs. Read the letter here.
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