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      Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.)

      Jayapal Laments Biden's Cave to Insurance Industry on Medicare Advantage

      "The administration must refuse to be bullied by health insurers, and instead must side with patients when deciding future policies," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal.

      Julia Conley
      Apr 06, 2023

      Noting that progressives in Congress recently helped lead the White House to the brink of implementing far-reaching reforms to Medicare Advantage and bringing relief to taxpayers who for years have been overpaying insurers that run the program, Rep. Pramila Jayapal on Thursday criticized the Biden administration's plan to delay making changes to the system following aggressive lobbying by the insurance industry.

      "We were on the cusp of immediate reform when the Biden administration proposed fixes to stop price gouging by insurance companies," said the Washington Democrat, who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC). "Sadly, health insurance companies used taxpayer dollars meant for medical care to instead buy Super Bowl commercials and desperately lobby to stop these changes that would cut down on their profiteering."

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      Medical professionals, students, ACTUP New York, and their supporters protested outside Pfizer's global headquarters in New York City on March 2, 2019.

      Cancer Patients Challenge Biden Admin's Refusal to Lower Price of Lifesaving Drug

      "We request HHS to consider this appeal directly... because the NIH has repeatedly demonstrated its unwillingness to even acknowledge that the Bayh-Dole Act includes an obligation to make products invented with federal funds 'available to the public on reasonable terms.'"

      Kenny Stancil
      Mar 23, 2023

      Two days after President Joe Biden's administration rejected a petition asking federal regulators to use their authority to lower the astronomical price of a lifesaving prostate cancer drug developed entirely with public funds, petitioners on Thursday filed an administrative appeal.

      At issue is enzalutamide, a drug the Japanese pharmaceutical giant Astellas and its U.S. counterpart Pfizer sell under the brand name Xtandi. Although Xtandi owes its existence to U.S. taxpayers, who bankrolled 100% of its development, an annual supply of the drug costs $189,900 in the United States—three to six times more than its list price in other wealthy nations.

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      Big Pharma
      drug pricing

      'Appalling': Biden Administration Declines to Force Big Pharma to Cut Price of Prostate Cancer Drug

      "This decision effectively rubber-stamps continued Big Pharma abuse," said one Democratic lawmaker.

      Brett Wilkins
      Mar 21, 2023

      Patient advocates on Tuesday blasted the Biden administration's refusal to compel the manufacturer of a lifesaving prostate cancer drug developed completely with public funds to lower its nearly $190,000 annual price tag.

      In 2021, prostate cancer patient Eric Sawyer petitioned U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra to grant march-in rights—under which the government can grant patent licenses to companies other than a drug's manufacturer—for enzalutamide, which is sold under the brand name Xtandi by Pfizer and Japanese pharmaceutical giant Astellas.

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