H.R. 3 threatens access to medicines, future innovation and American jobs

In the last election, voters made clear that they want quality, affordable health coverage that works when they need it and lower out-of-pocket costs for medicines. And we can achieve those goals, but the drug pricing plan known as H.R. 3 is not the answer. If implemented, it could have devastating consequences for patients’ access to medicines, future innovation and American jobs. Put simply, H.R. 3 is the wrong approach for both patients and the U.S. health care system. Here are some reasons why:

• Fewer new medicines developed. One analysis found that H.R.3 could lead to a 90% reduction in new medicines developed by small, U.S. biotechs alone over the next decade. That same analysis found that if H.R. 3 were in place over the past 10 years, 61 life changing medicines would not have come to market.
  
  
• Loss of American jobs. The biopharmaceutical industry currently supports more than 4 million American jobs and directly employs more than 800,000 workers in the United States. H.R. 3 risks these jobs moving to other countries. In fact, one analysis by TEConomy Partners projects that its implementation could result in the permanent loss of roughly 1 million U.S. jobs supported by the biopharmaceutical industry.
  
  
• Delayed access to medicines. Every time other countries have resorted to extreme government price setting policies, like H.R. 3, patients have lost access to medicines and experienced delays in accessing the latest innovative medicines. For example, the first transformative CAR-T cancer therapy was available in the United States 7 months before any other country and is still not available in most other countries, including Australia. Similarly, a groundbreaking treatment for drug-resistant forms of HIV approved in the United States wasn’t available in another H.R. 3 country until 18 months later. Today, that treatment is still not available in Australia, Canada, Japan or the United Kingdom.

While biopharmaceutical companies continue to fight COVID-19 around-the-clock, the industry’s competitive edge and innovative ecosystem are being threatened by this harmful policy. Instead, policymakers should take a holistic approach to lowering patient costs while supporting medical innovation and ensuring Americans have access to the best treatments available. 

There is a better way. Learn more here: PhRMA.org/BetterWay