New polling confirms what seniors and health care experts have long feared: the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is poised to stifle drug innovation and limit access to lifesaving drugs. With their health on the line, seniors overwhelmingly want Congress to step in and pass the bipartisan legislation to undo the damage Biden did to Medicare.
The Biden “Pill Penalty” is the direct result of the IRA’s misguided approach to Medicare drug pricing, allowing the federal government to set the price of certain medications. Under the Biden Pill Penalty, shots or infusions can be in the market for 13 years before being subjected to government price setting, while cutting-edge “small molecule” medicines, which typically come in pill or capsule form, are subject to price setting after only 9 years on the market.
These small-molecule medicines are the pill and tablet medications that millions of seniors rely on for chronic conditions like cancer. They are easy to take, widely available at local pharmacies, and generally more affordable than complex biologic treatments. Yet, the IRA’s flawed policies are already driving private sector investment away from these lifesaving medicines.
Seniors have every reason to be worried. McLaughlin & Associates, our leading national survey research and consulting company, recently conducted a poll confirming that older voters are overwhelmingly alarmed by the Biden Pill Penalty and its impact on their access to vital medications. We asked seniors and found that they had serious concerns about these disastrous policies and strongly supported the Ensuring Pathways to Innovative Cures Act (EPIC) as a way to eliminate the disastrous provision. This bipartisan legislation, which was recently reintroduced in the House of Representatives and introduced in the Senate, grants small molecule medicines the same time period of exemption from price control that other drugs receive.
Eighty-six percent of voters aged 55 and older fear that the Biden Pill Penalty will slash investment in small molecule drug R&D, limiting future treatment options. Eighty-seven percent worry that these medicines will be harder to obtain, forcing reliance on more expensive, less effective alternatives. Additionally, eighty-two percent support passing the EPIC Act to eliminate the Biden Pill Penalty.
Early-stage funding for small molecule drug development has plummeted seventy percent since the IRA was enacted, and the reason is simple. The law gives biological drugs a thirteen-year exemption from price controls, while small molecule drugs get only nine years before price-fixing kicks in. That is a death sentence for investment in new pill-based treatments. Major biotechnology companies are already shifting their focus away from small molecule innovation because they know the math simply doesn’t work.
Unfortunately, this is a disaster in the making. Small molecule drugs offer significant advantages, including convenience, affordability, and ease of use. They allow seniors to manage their conditions at home without the burden of expensive, time-consuming infusions or injections. They can also cross the blood-brain barrier, making them essential for treating neurological diseases. Yet, under the IRA, the incentives to develop these critical drugs are vanishing fast.
Congress has a choice. It can allow the IRA to continue choking off innovation or pass the EPIC Act in reconciliation to ensure small molecule drugs are given the same thirteen-year exemption as biologics. The solution is clear. Lawmakers must act now to protect seniors’ access to the medications they need. The EPIC Act isn’t just good policy. It is a lifeline for millions of older Americans who deserve better than government-induced drug shortages.
Jim McLaughlin is president of McLaughlin & Associates, a survey research and strategic services company.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.