big pharma

Senator Peter Welch: Roundtable on Rising Costs of Health Care and Prescription Drugs Ahead of Senate Hearing 05/17/2024

From the Office of Senator Welch:

On Friday, Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) convenes Vermont business owners and employers to discuss the rising costs of health care and prescription drugs. The roundtable comes ahead of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing examining prescription drug prices, competition, and innovation, and how to ensure medications are accessible and affordable for Americans.

Senator Welch has championed initiatives to lower prescription drug prices for Vermonters. This year, Senator Welch led the introduction of new bipartisan, bicameral legislation to streamline prescription drug patent litigation, encourage fair market competition, and lower prescription drug prices.

Senator Peter Welch: Protect Our Care Report 05/07/2024

From the Office of Senator Welch:

On Tuesday, May 7, 2024 at 1:00 PM ET, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell (D-MI-06) will join Leslie Dach from Protect Our Care for a press conference to discuss how big pharmaceutical companies are putting profits over patients. During the call, Protect Our Care will release a new report summarizing big drug companies’ recent investor reports, demonstrating how they are raking in profit and rewarding shareholders while more than 1 in 3 Americans are cutting pills or skipping doses because they can’t afford their medication.

This call comes at a time where pharmaceutical giants are laser-focused on undermining the Inflation Reduction Act by filing lawsuits and increasing their lobbying to protect their profits. Drug companies have been working behind the scenes with Republican lawmakers to repeal all of the Inflation Reduction Act’s provisions aimed at making prescription drugs more affordable for seniors. Big drug companies claim that the new law to make drugs more affordable will harm patients, but in reality, they’re telling investors the opposite and spending billions on rewarding their investors through stock buybacks and dividends, paying their executives millions, and spending millions lobbying to keep their prices high.

Senator Peter Welch: Implications of New Law Allowing Medicare Negotiation for Prescription Drugs 09/06/2023

From the Office of Senator Welch:

On Wednesday, September 6, Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) joins Families USA and Patients for Affordable Drugs for a virtual press conference to break down and discuss the future impact and implications for the Biden administration’s recent announcement of the first ten drugs selected for Medicare price negotiation - a vital component of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Experts are available to answer questions or provide context.

Senator Welch, a critical voice on drug price reforms, was a champion of the IRA when he voted for it in the House of Representatives. As a Senator, he has led legislation to build on the success of the IRA and empower HHS to negotiate for even more prescription drugs in Medicare Part D. He discusses why this is a crucial inflection point for Congress: to see the law implemented as intended, and to protect families whose health and wallets have hung in the balance for far too long - mainly because big drug companies are putting profits before people’s health.

Speakers include Senator Peter Welch (D-VT); Jen Taylor, Senior Director of Federal Relations, Families USA; and David Mitchell, Cancer Patient and Founder, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now.