Right now, Congress is locked in an intense debate over funding the government, with lawmakers from both parties fighting to include major priorities in the final spending package. Whatever the final package ends up looking like, it is absolutely critical that it includes legislation that helps bring down the sky-high prices of prescription drugs. Right now, there are efforts in the U.S. Senate to promote greater competition and fairness in the drug market, and the spending package is the best chance to see them to completion.
Maine’s senior senator, Susan Collins, is one of the rare modern lawmakers who never shies away from the chance to work across party lines to tackle major issues. She has the ear and respect of members in both parties, which is why her support for drug pricing legislation is essential to its success this year.
The embarrassingly high prices of prescription drugs in the United States affect people across the nation, but it’s particularly impactful here in Maine. According to the Census Bureau, Maine’s population has the highest average age of any state, and considering nearly 70% of Americans over age 40 take prescriptions, Mainers are disproportionately feeling the pain of high drug prices. That’s why more than 1 in 2 of our state’s residents report feeling worried about affording their prescriptions.
Mainers, and all Americans, have had enough. But what would actually address this crisis and finally bring down prices?
One proven solution to bringing down drug prices is to promote competition in the marketplace. Right now, the drug market can hardly be considered a free market – in fact, it’s closer to an oligopoly where a few big pharma companies call the shots and have unfettered power to block competition.
Much of the competition that we do have in the drug market comes from generic medicines, which are lower-cost versions of high-price brand-name drugs that are Food and Drug Administration-approved for safety and efficacy. Generic competitors are significantly more affordable than branded drugs from Big Pharma – in fact, the Congressional Budget Office reports that the average cost of a generic fell from $57 to $50 in Medicare Part D from 2009 to 2018, while the average prices of branded medication increased $149 to a whopping $353 over the same period.
Big Pharma is well aware that generic competitors are offering treatments that help people manage their conditions without breaking the bank, which is why they’re working overtime to block generics from reaching the market by gaming the patent system to their benefit.
Here’s how: Whenever a drug company creates a new medicine, patent law grants them approximately 20 years of exclusivity on the market. After 20 years, generics can come in and provide new versions of the treatment, typically at a lower cost. However, Big Pharma will use tactics like applying for new patents to extend the exclusivity or making a minor tweak to a drug’s formula so it’s considered “new” and enabling it to receive a further 20 more years of sole placement on the market without actually producing anything innovative.
These perverse and unfair practices are a leading contributor to the prices Mainers are paying at the pharmacy – and, thankfully, Sen. Collins gets this. She’s sponsored various legislation in the past that would increase patient access to generic medicines and promote a fairer market.
Right now, she has the chance to do so again as Congress negotiates the end-of-year spending package. As a bipartisan negotiator, her voice is crucial to swaying her colleagues and getting meaningful reform across the finish line. I have faith that she will once again stand up for Mainers and fight to pass bipartisan bills in Congress to lower drug prices through increased competition, transparency and accountability that can bring affordable medicines to market sooner.
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