Biden-Harris Price Controls Causing Senior Drug Prices to Skyrocket

If there’s one thing we know about Washington, D.C., it’s that well-intentioned policies often lead to harmful unintended consequences.

A prime example is the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), passed in August 2022, which aimed to reduce the federal deficit, invest in renewable energy, lower drug prices, and combat inflation.

Two years later, it’s clear that these lofty goals have not been achieved. One major flaw is the introduction of drug price controls, set to take effect in 2026, giving the federal government sweeping authority to set drug prices through the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program.

An analysis shows that these price controls are likely to raise costs for millions of seniors and disabled Americans relying on Medicare Part D.

This isn’t surprising—price controls historically fail, and someone eventually has to bear the financial burden. Moreover, government spending rarely curbs inflation; history shows the opposite to be true.

The first group of drugs impacted includes ten medicines selected for a “maximum fair price” (MFP) under the IRA.

Medicare beneficiaries who currently pay fixed copays for these drugs will see their progress toward the Part D out-of-pocket limit slowed, forcing many to pay more overall.

Low-income beneficiaries will see out-of-pocket costs rise significantly—by an average of 27%.

Meanwhile, Asian and Black beneficiaries reliant on these drugs could face increases of 13% and 15%, respectively.

As usual, the most vulnerable will suffer the worst consequences of misguided policy.

Worse still, the well-researched economic impacts of price controls have long been understood, making this combination of good intentions and bad outcomes all the more frustrating.

So, the question is: who knew, and when? Did Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure overlook how these price controls would affect seniors?

Government agencies typically perform forecasting before endorsing legislation, yet both Becerra and Brooks-LaSure were vocal proponents of the IRA’s price control mandate.

Progressive groups, whose ultimate goal is a single-payer healthcare system (e.g., Medicare for All), have strongly supported price controls as a step toward government-run healthcare.

Did these special interests influence HHS’s assessment of the IRA’s effects on Medicare drug prices? Did they suppress research that predicted massive cost increases for Medicare’s most vulnerable members?

What about the independent experts on the advisory committee known as MedPAC? Did they fail to assess the impacts of price controls, or were dissenting views silenced in pursuit of progressive goals like Medicare for All?

True scientific integrity only works when objective analysis is allowed, and seniors deserve answers as they struggle to afford the increasingly high costs of prescription drugs under the Biden-Harris administration and the well-meaning but flawed Inflation Reduction Act.

Ultimately, it seems that American seniors are being used as test subjects—or worse, as casualties—for the eventual push toward a single-payer system.

My organization has raised these tough questions and is prepared to hold federal officials accountable if they refuse to provide answers.

It’s beginning to look like we may have to take them to court. Let’s just hope it’s not too late for seniors, who are left wondering who’s responsible for their soaring drug prices.