U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration

09/17/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/17/2024 11:34

Klobuchar, Welch File Amicus Brief Urging Court to Uphold Medicare’s Ability to Negotiate Lower Prescription Drug Prices for Consumers

WASHINGTON - Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Peter Welch (D-VT) as well as Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Richard Durbin (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) filed an amicus brief in AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals v. Becerra; Bristol Myers Squibb Co. v. Becerra; and Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Becerra in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit urging the court to uphold the constitutionality of Congress allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices for consumers. The brief focuses on the legislative history leading to the law's enactment. It demonstrates that Congress, as entrusted by the Constitution, may enact policy reforms and improve federal programs.

"In America, no one should be forced to choose between paying for life-saving medicine or paying their bills. Thanks to legislation we passed to end Big Pharma's sweetheart deal, Medicare is starting to negotiate lower drug prices for consumers," said Klobuchar. "It's no surprise Big Pharma has been trying to stop this in the courts, and they've lost every case decided so far. I will continue fighting back against these absurd attempts to reinstate sky-high prices for prescription drugs."

"Big Pharma is once again refusing to accept that the power of the Biden-Harris Administration to negotiate drug prices is here to stay. Drug makers are again attempting to use the courts to undermine the Inflation Reduction Act-all to turn a bigger profit. And that's despite the fact that the bill's drug pricing provisions have the support of Americans-including 92% of Democrats and 77% of Republicans," said Welch. "If Big Pharma thinks we're going to stand by as they try to raise the prices of prescription drugs for seniors, they need a dose of reality."

An excerpt from the brief is below. The amicus brief is available HERE.

"Appellants now attempt to accomplish through judicial action what they could not through the legislative process. Appellants' position in this litigation boils down to the argument that the United States Constitution prohibits the federal government from negotiating the prices of the products it purchases. Appellants seek to prevent reform of a purchasing process that Congress itself made. They argue that, Congress having created this process, Congress now cannot unmake the process or even amend for the benefit of the American public and the American taxpayer.

As the Appellees' brief ably explains, this position is wrong as a matter of constitutional law. Congress improves laws all the time. Congress has the right and indeed the duty to do so. The Program takes nothing from the pharmaceutical industry-not its drugs and not its patents. And the Program does not coerce industry participants to do or say anything. Like every other market participant, manufacturers may sell their products at prices buyers think is fair (or not fair) and buyers may make market choices in turn."

Senator Klobuchar has been a leading voice in the Senate to lower prescription drug prices.

Klobuchar's bill to end the ban on Medicare negotiating lower prescription drug prices for Medicare's 50 million seniors and help lower drug prices for all Americans was signed into law in 2022 as part of a larger legislative package.

Klobuchar leads two bipartisan bills with Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) to promote competition and reduce drug prices: the Preserve Access to Affordable Generics and Biosimilars Act and the Stop STALLING Act. Last February, they both unanimously passed the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The Preserve Access to Affordable Generics and Biosimilars Act would limit anticompetitive "pay-for-delay" deals that prevent or delay the introduction of affordable generic drugs . Pay-for-delay deals happen when branded pharmaceutical companies pay generic drug companies to delay the introduction of cheaper substitutes - increasing the cost of prescriptions and imposing significant costs on our health care system.

The Stop Significant and Time-wasting Abuse Limiting Legitimate Innovation of New Generics (Stop STALLING) Act would deter branded pharmaceutical companies from filing sham petitions with the Food and Drug Administration in order to interfere with the approval of generic and biosimilar medicines that would compete with their own branded products, a tactic that delays patient access to affordable medications. The bill would also give the Federal Trade Commission enhanced authority to take action against those companies that file sham petitions.

Earlier this year, Klobuchar worked with Senators Peter Welch (D-VT) and Mike Braun (R-IN) to introduce bipartisan, bicameral legislation to streamline drug patent litigation, encourage fair market competition, and lower prescription drug prices by making it easier for generic and biosimilar companies to enter the market.

In 2023, Klobuchar along with Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) led a group of their colleagues in filing an amicus brief in Merck & Co. v. Becerra in the District Court for the District of Columbia and in Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. United States in the District Court for Connecting, urging the federal courts to uphold the constitutionality of Congress allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices for consumers. On July 9, 2024, a federal judge in Connecticut dismissed Boehringer Ingelheim's lawsuit.

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