Senator Sherrod Brown [D-OH]: Big Pharma's gone too far

PLEASE ADD YOUR NAME TO SENATOR SHERROD BROWN'S PETITION TO STOP BIG PHARMA PRICE GOUGING!

If you’ve been following the news in recent months, chances are you’ve heard stories about huge hikes in some prescription drug costs. ln one notable case, a drug that had cost $13.50 per tablet skyrocketed to $750 per tablet, seemingly overnight.

This is a phenomenon that’s happening all across the country. And it’s because pharmaceutical companies are basing their pricing not on the value of the drug to patients -- but on the value of their bottom line.

Too often, these companies don’t invest their profits into developing new cures, or into scientific advancement or innovation. Rather, they buy up the rights to existing generic drugs, lay off workers, and gouge the most vulnerable among us to pad their CEO’s profit margins.

Stand with me and demand Congress take action to stop the prescription price gouging. Sign the petition today.

Here in Ohio, hikes in prescription drug costs at the Cleveland Clinic will increase pharmacy costs by $11 million this year. At University Hospital hospitals, a $3.6 million increase in drug costs is driving up the cost of care for patients in vital areas.

According to a report by the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

“One drug that quickly reduces blood pressure has shot up threefold, from $200 to about $600.

Another medication that helps reduce swelling in critically ill patients has risen 879 percent, from about $470 to more than $4,600.

And still another drug that increases bone density has gone up 3,500 percent, from about $50 a vial to more than $1,800.”

Those aren’t small hikes -- those are huge hikes -- and it’s often the patient who gets stuck with the bill.

This problem hits seniors particularly hard, who are more likely to need long-term care and multiple prescriptions.

Under current law, Medicare is not permitted to negotiate prescription drug prices -- even though we know that Medicare prices help set the rate for the rest of the private market. I have a plan to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices. This will alleviate the burden of prescription price gouging on seniors and help stabilize the drug prices overall.

Congress needs to act soon to stop the gouging. And I need your help to turn up the pressure.

Demand that Congress take action to stop prescription price gouging. Add your name here.

Thank you for your support.

Sherrod

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