Page 18 - August2020-NBY News

Legislative Impact on Drug Pricing

From The Senior Citizens League: protective medical gear are looming as
Despite the coronavirus emergency, outbreaks grow in the South. One big
The Senior Citizens League, TSCL is reason is because these supplies often
continuing its fight for you to protect come from other countries, which were
your Social Security, Medicare, and also dealing with outbreaks.
Medicaid benefits. We have had to The nation’s pharmaceutical industry
make some adjustments in the way we has pushed back against the potential
carry on our work, but we have not, order, arguing that the United States
and will not stop our work on your should not shut itself off from a global
behalf. supply chain.
‘Turning our backs on trading
* * * * partners during a crisis could damage
Trump Expected to Issue Executive our relationships long after this
Orders about Prescription Drugs pandemic ends’, the Pharmaceutical
Last week White House Chief of Research and Manufacturers of America
Staff Mark Meadows announced that (PhARMA) and dozens of other business
President Trump would soon be and trade groups wrote in a letter to the
signing three executive orders administration.
regarding prescription drug prices. Other critics say that revising the
While he did not provide any further government’s purchasing rules will not
information the Washington provide a quick solution to the supply
Post published an article about what shortages of the current
one of the orders is likely to be. pandemic. ”Making Buy American
It is anticipated that one of the provisions tighter during the current
orders will be to shift drug and crisis would likely do more harm than
medical production to this country by good,” according to William Reinsch
suddenly cutting off federal agencies and Jack Caporal of the Center for
from those offshore supply chains. Strategic and International Studies.
However, there is concern that it Eighty percent of the nation’s active
could make it even harder to obtain pharmaceutical ingredients come from
supplies critical to combating the overseas and China is its No. 2 supplier,
pandemic, such as personal protective behind only Canada.
equipment, testing supplies and even When it comes to generic drugs, a
medications to treat coronavirus ‘substantial portion’ of U.S. imports
patients. come either directly from China or third
The order is expected to apply to world countries such as India, which use
government programs and agencies active ingredients sourced from China.
that directly purchase drugs and Moreover, U.S. dependence on China
medical supplies, according to for drugs and drug products is growing.
lobbyists and industry watchers. They Its imports of Chinese medical
may include the Department of equipment increased 78 percent between
Veterans Affairs, the Strategic 2010 and 2018.
National Stockpile, and the Federal TSCL will be watching closely for the
Bureau of Prisons. expected executive orders and we will
The order would broaden existing report on them in our legislative update
federal requirements for government that follows the release of the orders.
agencies to prioritize buying supplies
for medicines deemed ‘essential’ from * * * *
U.S. manufacturers, rather than Your Legislative Team
companies in China or elsewhere The Senior Citizens League (TSCL)
around the world. 1800 Diagonal Road, Suite 600
The Post story said that labs Alexandria, VA 223145
struggled to ramp up coronavirus www.SeniorsLeague.org
testing, and hospitals and nursing
homes ran short of personal
protective equipment over the spring.
These failures hampered the national
and state responses to the pandemic,
leaving the United States with far
more infections and deaths than any
other country. Even now, shortages of

18 August 2020