Via America’s Lawyer: There are many issues that can actually unite both the left and the right in America, but there is one that consistently ranks at the top of the list for everyone, and that is the cost of prescription drugs in the United States. Farron Cousins fills in for Mike Papantonio on this episode of America’s Lawyer to explain more.
Transcript:
*This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos.
And finally tonight, some good news. There aren’t many issues that can actually unite both the left and the right in America, but there is one that consistently ranks at the top of the list for everyone, and that is the cost of prescription drugs in the United States. Right now, US consumers, we pay a higher percentage of our GDP per capita on prescription drugs than any other industrialized country in the world. We also pay the highest markups and because Big Pharma spent a record $280 million on lobbying efforts last year alone, it’s really no surprise that Americans keep getting gouged by this industry.
But all of their big money lobbyists and the direct campaign donations might not be enough to silence the growing chorus of American citizens calling on our elected officials to do something, to do anything really about the high cost of prescription drugs. And the good news is that Congress seems to be listening right now. Currently there are six, at least six different pieces of legislation between the House and the Senate that would help lower the cost of prescription drugs here in the United States.
Now these bills tackle everything from price negotiation through Medicare to making drug companies charge US citizens the same markup percentages that they charge in other countries. Now, these bills may not survive full chamber votes, but they have reignited the public’s faith that there might actually be a few members of Congress who want to help American citizens.
