House & Senate Doctors: Reconciliation Package will have Grave Impact on Patient Care, 'Any Cure Lost is One Too Many'

Press Release

The House GOP Doctors Caucus and physician members of the Senate shared serious concerns in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi following the inclusion of government drug price control policies in the reconciliation package being considered in the Senate.

"As medical providers in Congress, we urge you to recognize the danger this proposal will have on patients. We can and should work on a bipartisan basis to lower drug costs without sacrificing the cures and treatments that will provide for a healthier future," they wrote.

The members also wrote in the letter:

"If this plan is passed into law, millions of patients could die waiting for new drugs and cures that will no longer be developed in their lifetime. Government price controls have consequences. The Congressional Budget Office has conservatively estimated that 15 fewer drugs will be developed over the next 30 years under this bill. Another study found that only six out of 110 currently approved therapies would have been brought to the market if this framework were in place."

"Any cure lost is one too many. As Members of Congress who have been involved in patient care, we understand the real-world impact that this will have on patients. Many of us have treated patients with chronic and life-threatening diseases. We've seen expensive surgeries and intensive inpatient care be eliminated by the development of new therapies. This development and innovation will all but go away, leaving patients without hope for improved quality of life and long-term savings."

"We remain concerned that this proposal will also put the government, not patients and their physicians, in control of Americans' medical decisions. This is another clear example of a policy crafted by politicians who have never seen a patient."

The letter was signed by GOP Doctors Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Brad Wenstrup, D.P.M. (R-OH,) Michael Burgess, M.D. (R-TX,) Andy Harris, M.D. (R-MD,) and Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA,) John Boozman, O.D. (R-AR,) Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS,) and Rand Paul, M.D. (R-KY) with Reps. Brian Babin, D.D.S. (R-TX,) Larry Bucshon, M.D. (R-IN,) Buddy Carter, R. Ph. (R-GA,) Neal Dunn, M.D. (R-FL,) Drew Ferguson, D.M.D. (R-GA,) Diana Harshbarger, Pharm.D. (R-TN,) Ronny Jackson, M.D. (R-TX,) John Joyce, M.D. (R-PA,) Mariannette Miller-Meeks, M.D. (R-IA,) Greg Murphy, M.D. (R-NC,) Jefferson Van Drew, D.M.D. (R-NJ,) and Scott DesJarlais, M.D. (R-TN.)

Background:

The reconciliation package under consideration in the Senate will have grave consequences for patients and patient care, with medical providers in Congress citing:

1. This price-setting scheme put forth in this bill will endanger patient access to care by cutting provider reimbursement on impacted Part B drugs by an average of forty percent.

2. The bill does nothing to address other ongoing Medicare provider payment cuts set to begin in 2023.

3. If this plan is passed into law, millions of patients could die waiting for new drugs and cures that will no longer be developed in their lifetime.

4. Government price controls have consequences, and one lost cure is one too many.

5. This plan robs Medicare to pay subsidies to insurance companies and other non-health related expenditures.

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