Good things are happening! Forcing pharmaceutical companies to lower the price of Medicare drugs is not unconstitutional, according to federal courts. What’s more, housing in Hawaii will become more affordable, the police will lose access to some of their most powerful tracking tools, and Vermont found a new way to make oil companies pay for climate change damages.
Major Win For More Affordable Drugs
Government efforts to negotiate for fairer drug prices is not unconstitutional, says a federal court. On April 29, the United States District Court in New Jersey ruled in favor of the U.S. government in challenges to drug price negotiations brought by pharmaceutical giants Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Bristol Myers Squibb.
Pharmaceutical companies have reaped massive profits — often paying no taxes — while tens of millions of Americans have fallen into medical debt and many suffer premature deaths over the past decade because they couldn’t afford their meds. According to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office, the top 25 pharmaceutical companies have profit margins between 15 and 20 percent, significantly higher than non-pharmaceutical industries, which typically see profit margins range from 4 to 9 percent.
