시역_의료보건_김지유

[19기 김지유]

미국 상원의원 버니 샌더스가 2024년 4월에 진행한 한 백악관 행사에서 진행한 연설로, 바이든 행정부의 의료비 절감을 위한 노력에 대한 내용입니다. (고유명사는 제거했는데 참고로 제거한 천식 호흡기 회사 네개의 이름은 Boehringer Ingelheim, AstraZeneca, and GlaxoSmithKline입니다)

시역_의료보건_김지유.docx

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<Glossary>

Medicaid, Medicare

(asthma) inhaler (천식) 호흡기

COPD 만성폐쇄폐질환

(원문링크)

https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/biden-and-sanders-address-efforts-to-lower-healthcare-costs

https://www.youtube.com/live/lTxZZJbzQTQ?si=R0uceWwGQhaCMFbu

Let me begin by telling you what you and the people know, and that is our nation is politically divided. Nobody doubts that. But there is one issue that the people are united on. And that is that we are sick and tired of paying by far the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs.

On average, we pay over three times as much as the people of other major countries for brand name prescription drugs. And in some cases, we are paying 10 or 20 times more than people around the world for the exact same product. Meanwhile, while we are getting ripped off, the top drug companies made over $110 billion in profit last year, and their CEOs make tens and tens of millions of dollars in compensation. The result of the high cost of prescription drugs is obvious. One out of four people cannot afford to purchase the prescriptions that their doctors write, and some of them will die as a result. Others get much sicker than they should, and they end up in emergency rooms or hospitals at great cost to our already bloated healthcare system.

Further, the very high cost of prescription drugs is not just an individual issue—it’s a taxpayer issue. It impacts all of us. It drives up the cost of Medicaid, Medicare, and other public health programs, as well as private insurance.

The truth is that politicians have been talking about the high cost of prescription drugs for years, including me. I’ve been on this issue for probably 20 years, maybe more. But the other truth is that during that time, not much has happened. A lot of talk, yes, but no real progress. The drug companies continue to raise prices anytime they want, to any level they want, for any reason they want—just doing whatever they want.

Here is some good news. Despite all of the incredible wealth and political power of the pharmaceutical industry, progress is being made. What has been accomplished over the last several years? As a result of legislation, seniors with diabetes are paying no more than $35 a month for the insulin they need. And starting next year, that alone will save many lives. Beginning next year, seniors will be paying no more than $2,000 a year out of pocket for prescription drugs.

And we all know seniors who have chronic illnesses, more than one, and are running up huge prescription drug costs they can’t afford. The cap next year will be $2,000. Further, and very importantly, pharmaceutical companies can no longer increase the price of prescription drugs above inflation for seniors without paying a substantial penalty. And maybe most importantly, for the first time in our history, Medicare is negotiating with the pharmaceutical industry to lower the prices of some of the most expensive prescription drugs in America. Now, we must confess, this is not a novel idea. In fact, it’s done in every other major country on earth. But finally, we’re catching up.

The Biden administration has also taken executive action to make sure that when taxpayer dollars help fund the development of certain tests, treatments, and vaccines to deal with public health emergencies, pharmaceutical companies must charge reasonable prices for those products.

And that’s not all. In December, the Biden administration proposed that if a drug made using taxpayer funds is not reasonably available to people because of its exorbitant prices, the government reserves the right to allow a low-cost manufacturer to sell the product for a fraction of the price. This was called “An important step toward ending Big Pharma price gouging.” And I agree. I look forward to seeing this provision implemented to substantially reduce prescription drug prices.

Additionally, I’m proud of the accomplishments made to bring down the cost of prescription drugs. Less than three months ago, an investigation was launched into the outrageously high cost of inhalers that 25 million people with asthma and 16 million with COPD need to breathe. What was learned from that investigation is shocking: in some cases, people here were paying not 10 times more, not 50 times more, but in some cases 70 times more for inhalers than people in Canada and Europe. After talking to the CEOs of the four major inhaler manufacturers, three of them have made a commitment to cap the cost of all of their brand name inhalers. The smallest of the four companies that manufacture inhalers has not yet made that commitment, but we hope to hear from them soon.

What all of this means is that within a short time, starting on June 1st, the vast majority of people will pay no more than $35 at the pharmacy counter for the inhalers they purchase. Now, my impression is that these companies, as well as many others in the pharmaceutical industry, are beginning to catch on to the fact that people are tired of being ripped off and paying astronomical prices for the prescription drugs they need to stay alive or ease their pain.

Last November, the Federal Trade Commission challenged how drug companies manipulate and play games with patents to keep low-cost generic drugs off the market, including asthma inhalers. By standing up to the drug companies, the FTC has helped deliver this major victory for the people. And it’s not just inhalers. Last year, a CEO committed during a hearing that his company would set up a patient assistance program so that no one in this country would have to pay for their vaccines out of pocket. In a separate hearing, the CEO of another company committed that his company would not raise prices on existing insulin products after announcing very substantial price cuts for these products. These efforts will improve life for millions. They will prevent unnecessary deaths, ease suffering, and save substantial sums of money for working-class families.

But let us be clear, despite all that has been accomplished up to now, it is not enough. Much more needs to be done. There is a call on Congress to pass legislation to cap out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for everyone at no more than $2,000 a year and to substantially increase the number of drugs that can be negotiated with the pharmaceutical industry. I strongly agree with that.

And think of what that will mean to people, many of whom have a myriad of chronic illnesses—no more than $2,000 out of pocket. That is a significant step forward. I intend to push that legislation as aggressively as I can.

In my view, we can no longer tolerate companies charging people exorbitant amounts for drugs that cost so little to manufacture when the same products are sold for far less in other countries. Unacceptable.

Working together, we can take on the greed of the pharmaceutical industry and substantially lower the cost of prescription drugs. And when we do that, we will be lowering the cost of healthcare in our country, which is double the cost of any other major nation on earth.

Thank you.