The Center for American Principles submitted comments to the Senate Finance Committee in response to its Request for Information on policy options to lower prescription drug costs for patients.
In the letter, CAP urges Congress to pursue targeted reforms that make medicines more affordable while preserving the market-based incentives that sustain American biopharmaceutical innovation. CAP cautions against expanding the Inflation Reduction Act’s government price-setting framework, including proposals to subject more medicines to Medicare price setting, accelerate when drugs become eligible for government-set prices, and incorporate foreign government prices into U.S. pricing decisions.
CAP argues that importing foreign price controls would reward countries that rely disproportionately on American medical innovation while weakening the investment environment that has made the United States the global leader in developing new medicines. The letter also emphasizes the strategic importance of biotechnology to American economic competitiveness and warns against policies that discourage investment in this critical industry.
Instead, CAP encourages Congress to focus on targeted reforms including greater pharmaceutical supply-chain transparency, pharmacy benefit manager accountability, and premium stabilization—measures that can reduce costs for patients without undermining incentives for future medical breakthroughs.