What was once a $5 billion Big Pharma giveaway has exploded to $8.8 billion – a windfall for drug corporations at the expense of patients and taxpayers.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Patients For Affordable Drugs Now and AARP sent a joint letter to Congressional leadership opposing the EPIC Act (S.832/H.R.1492), warning that the bill would delay Medicare’s ability to negotiate lower prices for small-molecule drugs by an additional four years – threatening one of the most popular and effective drug price reforms in recent history.
Since small molecule drugs make up 90% of prescriptions, if enacted before the passage of the 2022 prescription drug law, EPIC would have disqualified more than half of the drugs selected for negotiation, including Eliquis, Jardiance, and Ozempic, commonly used to treat diabetes, blood clots, heart and kidney diseases.
The truth is, this isn’t about innovation – it’s about protecting monopoly profits. The industry itself lobbied for a longer negotiation timeline for biologics, and now it’s seeking the same delay for small-molecule drugs. If parity is the goal, both drug types should be subject to negotiation after nine years, not 13.
Further, since the law was passed in 2022, drug company investment and R&D increased. In the nine months following the passage, big drug companies acquired more small-molecule drugs than in the nine months prior.
EPIC would come on the heels of another massive industry giveaway, with the industry netting a $9 billion handout with the ORPHAN Cures Act. With PhRMA ramping up its lobbying machine and spending $9 million in Q3 alone — its most expensive third quarter to date — we know that EPIC is the next attempt to roll back progress and squeeze patients and taxpayers even further.
But Americans aren’t fooled. Nine in ten Americans want Congress to do more to lower drug prices, and a strong majority supports the government negotiating a better deal for patients. Patients are fighting back. Already, more than 34,000 patients have sent letters to Congress demanding that they oppose the EPIC Act and defend Medicare negotiation.
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October 20, 2025
Dear Majority Leader Thune, Minority Leader Schumer, Speaker Johnson, and Minority Leader Jeffries:
We write to you on behalf of the millions of Americans who want real relief from outrageous prescription drug prices and are urging Congress to protect them from higher costs. Costly legislation like S.832/H.R. 1492 – the Ensuring Pathways to Innovative Cures (EPIC) Act – does not serve the American taxpayers and would instead block or delay patients’ access to lower prescription drug prices at a time when the overwhelming majority support granting Medicare the power to negotiate lower prices for more drugs.
Simply put, the EPIC Act would give drug companies even more time to charge Americans the same or even higher prices for their medications – all by extending the Medicare drug price negotiation exemption period for small molecule drugs (pills) from nine to 13 years. That’s four more years where patients and taxpayers would continue bearing the burden of high prices, with billions in additional costs. In real terms, taxpayers could face close to 10 billion dollars in unnecessary spending at a time when fiscal responsibility is paramount, while patients face impossible choices like whether to fill their prescriptions or purchase groceries.
The pharmaceutical industry’s claim that current law is stifling the development of small-molecule drugs is not supported by objective evidence. Since Medicare drug price negotiation became law in 2022:
- Investment and innovation have increased. In the nine months following the passage of the law, big drug companies acquired more small-molecule drugs than in the nine months prior.
- Research and development (R&D) investment remains robust. A recently published analysis showed an increase in drug licensing as well as pharmaceutical investment in research and development during the six quarters following the passage of the law. Available data does not support claims that drug development has slowed since enactment.
Moreover, only the highest expenditure drugs can be selected for negotiation. To be eligible, products must gross at least $200 million per year from Medicare alone. Coupled with the number of years before Medicare-negotiated drug prices become available, drugs that are eligible for negotiation are well-positioned to recover all of their R&D costs within the existing nine-year window based solely on Medicare revenue. It is also important to note that the pharmaceutical industry does not undertake R&D alone. Taxpayers help underwrite medical innovation: the NIH contributed funding to over 99 percent of drugs approved between 2010 and 2019.
Americans deserve a government that prioritizes their needs over unfounded complaints from drug companies. We urge you to stand with patients and older Americans by protecting access to affordable medicines and ensuring taxpayer dollars are used wisely. Please oppose any legislation that would make it harder for struggling patients to gain affordable access to the medications they need, including the EPIC Act (S.832/H.R.1492).
Sincerely,
AARP
Patients for Affordable Drugs Now
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Patients For Affordable Drugs Now is the only national, patient advocacy organization focused exclusively on policies to lower drug prices. We empower and mobilize patients and allies, hold accountable those in power, and fight to shape and achieve system-changing policies that make prescription drugs affordable for all people in the United States. P4ADNow is bipartisan and does not accept funding from organizations that profit from the development or distribution of prescription drugs. To learn more, visit: PatientsForAffordableDrugsNOW.org