EMILY STACK: Families Paying Price For Big Pharma’s Legal Games

For moms, nothing matters more than our families’ health. But for too many families, staying healthy has become unaffordable. Health insurance premiums keep increasing, and medicines have become so expensive that nearly one in five Americans is skipping or rationing doses to make them last longer and save money.

President Donald Trump is already doing great work to lower medicine costs. TrumpRX is a new online store that allows families to purchase medicines directly from manufacturers. The President is also pushing big drug companies to stop charging Europeans less for medicines and overcharging Americans. Yet more can be done. We need Congress to join the President’s efforts.

Generic medicines are one of the most effective ways to reduce healthcare costs for all Americans. Generic drugs typically cost 80 to 85 percent less than brand-name medicines while delivering the same benefits. And since drug costs are among the biggest contributors to rising costs, access to more generic drugs would deliver financial relief to millions of families. But unfortunately, our generic drug system — last reformed in 1984 — is now broken after years of Big Pharma lawfare that keeps affordable generic drugs off the market and prices high.

For three decades, Congress’s carefully balanced framework, known as the Hatch-Waxman Act, worked as intended. Brand-name drug companies developed new medicines, received patent protection, and enjoyed substantial market exclusivity through a well-defined process. While the law opened the door to generic drugs, it also left room for branded drug manufacturers to sue generics for patent infringement and keep them off the market. Regardless of which party won the lawsuit, this process produced legal clarity and market certainty, enabling generic entry after patent expiration and ultimately delivering lower prices for consumers through robust competition.

Then, the legal games began — led by branded drug companies. As a result, generic drugs keep getting delayed, and lower prices come later and later. With the average number of patents on drugs skyrocketing, all too frequently the single lawsuit Congress envisioned has become two, three, or many more. The combination of overpatenting and serial patent litigation keeps generic drugs off the market for years longer than Congress intended, forcing Americans to spend billions more on medicines — or simply go without.

Some might think expensive medicines don’t matter because big insurance companies, Medicare, and Medicaid bear the costs. However, all the extra costs lead to increased premiums, wasted taxpayer dollars, and a heavy burden on small businesses that provide health care to their employees — sometimes forcing them to cut back on hiring. Eventually, the costs trickle down to employees, taxpayers, and families. That’s why so many organizations across the political spectrum support legislation to end abusive patent lawfare, and why we joined them in a letter to Congressional leadership urging action that will strengthen freedom and lower health care costs.

Fundamentally, this issue is about choice and independence. Innovation justifies exclusivity, but even the iconic Mickey Mouse finally outlived its intellectual property exclusivity. Families should be able to make healthcare decisions without being boxed in by unfair, sky-high prices and limited options.

When families can afford the medicines we need, we are healthier, more independent, and primed to thrive. When access to affordable generics is blocked, families are left facing painful trade-offs and unnecessary financial stress. By standing together to expand access to affordable generic medicines, we can protect our families’ health and build a stronger, more responsible future for our children and our country.

Emily Stack, Political Director at Moms for America.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

(Featured Image Media Credit: Sadrulk/Wikimedia Commons)

The post EMILY STACK: Families Paying Price For Big Pharma’s Legal Games was first published by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service which makes its content available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. Please support their efforts.