NAPERVILLE — Big Pharma is furiously lobbying Washington to protect its profits, but Rep. Lauren Underwood is fighting for patients as she works to lower drug prices. That’s why today, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now launched a six-figure campaign to thank Rep. Underwood for her leadership in the fight to lower drug prices. The average American pays two to three times more for prescription drugs than those in other wealthy countries.
Watch the ad campaign videos, “Jackie,” and “Gail.”
Rep. Underwood voted to support of H.R. 3 — a bill that would let Medicare negotiate directly with drug companies and make lower prices available to all Americans — regardless of insurance type. The legislation would penalize drug companies if they charge Americans more than they charge in other countries. It would limit drug price increases to the rate of inflation and cap out-of-pocket costs for seniors in Medicare at $2,000 per year. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says the bill would reduce the cost of the most expensive drugs by as much as 55%.
“Illinois residents are being crushed by high drug prices, and Rep. Underwood is fighting back,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “We want to send a message to voters in IL-14: Big Pharma is spreading scare tactics and lies, but Rep. Underwood is standing up for patients.”
As part of the campaign, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now will release a slew of digital ads that show the toll high prescription drug prices are taking on everyday Americans, offer a suite of tools that encourage Americans to contact their representatives in support of lowering drug prices, and share stories of patients suffering under prescription drug prices on social media.
These ads come on the heels of a campaign in August when Patients For Affordable Drugs Now thanked GOP Senators who supported the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2019.
Americans overwhelmingly support action to lower drug prices. Eighty-six percent of Americans — majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents — support allowing Medicare to negotiate. Americans pay twice as much for prescription drugs as other nations, and nearly 1 in 3 adults report not taking their medicines as prescribed due to cost.
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