President Set to Announce Reimportation, Casten Rx Roundtable Tuesday & “Snatch Their Patent”

Thank God, impeachment isn’t the only thing going on in Washington as Congress has started its Thanksgiving recess.

Since September when President Trump’s and House Speaker Pelosi’s negotiations broke down concerning the real need to lower prescription drug prices, the Democrats have launched an all out offensive thinking Rx prices is a winning issue in next year’s elections.

Given President Trump also wants to see Rx prices come down, this goal is genuinely bipartisan at the highest levels. So there should be bipartisan agreement, right?

As revealed in Thursday’s article about Congresswoman Lauren Underwood’s Five Point Plan to Reduce Drug Prices (5PP), Underwood is clearly taking a partisan approach to something that needs a real bipartisan solution.

In Thursday’s article, the House Problem Solvers Caucus’ (PSC) 7-point approach to bipartisan solutions was shared, and clearly Underwood’s legislation is outside of the “bipartisan” boundaries, though she says each legislative component has “bipartisan support”.

So let’s list the seven bills in Underwood’s 5PP and count the Republican cosponsors, beginning with the cornerstone, Pelosi’s H.R. 3:

• H.R. 3 – Lower Drug Costs Now Act – 102 Cosponsors, 0 Republicans (Underwood has not cosponsored)
• H.R. 965 – Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples (CREATES) Act – 68 Cosponsors, 13 Republicans
• H.R. 1499 – Protecting Consumer Access to Generic Drugs Act – 38 cosponsors, 0 Republicans
• H.R. 2296 – More Efficient Tools to Realize Information for Consumers (METRIC) Act – 8 cosponsors, 2 Republicans
• H.R. 2401 – American Cures Act (Underwood sponsored) – 1 cosponsor Democrat Bill Foster
• H.R. 4457 – Chronic Condition Copay Elimination Act (Underwood sponsored) – 11 cosponsors, 0 Republicans (Sean Casten has not cosponsored)
• H.R. 4663 – Freedom from Price Gouging Act – 3 cosponsors, 0 Republicans (Casten has not cosponsored)

So, out of the seven pieces of legislation Underwood cites in her 5PP, only 2 of them have any Republican cosponsors. Surprising that Underwood has not cosponsored H.R. 3 and Casten has not cosponsored Underwood’s H.R. 2401 or H.R. 4457.

As inferred in the subtitle, Underwood is not the only one talking about high prescription drug prices. As shared on Thursday, Congressmen Dan Crenshaw (R, TX) and Greg Walden (R, OR) began a series of videos this week concerning H.R. 3, with the first 2 videos embedded in Thursday’s article.

And yesterday through Twitter, it was learned Sean Casten will be discussing this topic on Tuesday at the Barrington village hall, too:

Since Casten is having this event, his two Republican opponents, Jeanne Ives and Dr. Jay Kinzler, have not weighed in on prescription drugs.

Let’s not let that fact go by quickly. Kinzler, an MD, talks healthcare but not prescription drug pricing. Ives, who released her policy/position statement on healthcare on September 30, does not mention prescription drug pricing.

And Dan Crenshaw who is helping Ives’ campaign since mid October, launched a video series on the truth about H.R. 3 this past week.

Like the 14th district Republican candidates, let us hope both Ives and Kinzler weigh in on this issue, soon. Hope all 10 of them are watching at the very least Crenshaw’s “Here’s the Truth” series on H.R. 3.

As said in the subtitle, President Trump also wants Rx prices to come down for Americans, and yesterday, he issued a four-part tweet with contents transcribed:

“.@SecAzar [Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar] and I will soon release a plan to let Florida and other States import prescription drugs that are MUCH CHEAPER than what we have now! Hard-working Americans don’t deserve to pay such high prices for the drugs they need. We are fighting DAILY to make sure this HAPPENS…  

“…While we had the first prescription drug price decrease in 50 years, Americans still pay far too much for drugs – other countries pay far less – that is WRONG! We will soon be putting more options on the table…  

“…Pelosi and her Do Nothing Democrats drug pricing bill doesn’t do the trick. FEWER cures! FEWER treatments! Time for the Democrats to get serious about bipartisan solutions to lowering prescription drug prices for families…  

“…House Republicans are showing real LEADERSHIP and prepared to enact bipartisan solutions for drug prices. Do Nothing Democrats are playing partisan politics with YOUR drug prices! We are READY to work together if they actually want to get something done!”

President Trump tweets 11/22/19
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Whatever anyone says or even agrees about President Trump’s bluster, he does know the shortest way to get to the truth on the issues and he is spot on with prescription drug prices and the House Democrats’ playing politics.

The list of legislation and the lack of Republican support is clear evidence.

And clearly, the President is aware of the Crenshaw/Walden video series about H.R. 3, since the hashtag “fewercures” was used this past week.

As far as prescription drugs reimportation, this solution was very popular in Illinois around 10 years ago, and then-Governor Rod Blagojevich attempted to do something like this for Illinois and it was a failure.

If the President’s plan is the same, the plan will be to bring in surplus supplies of prescription medication from countries like Canada, who pay artificially low prices.

Let’s all be watching what the President will do, and maybe it’ll be something different than what was seen a decade ago.

Last, as was brought up in Thursday’s article, pharmaceutical companies and patents protections are popular among Democrats to demonize.

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris revealed the real socialists’ approach to “negotiating” with pharmaceutical companies at a campaign event in Iowa yesterday, as the tweet screenshot from Washington Post political reporter Dave Weigel reveals:

Senator Harris’ words would be comical if it wasn’t for the fact that is where she wants to take our country.

And some people say Democrats wanting socialism is a myth.

“I will snatch their patent so we can take over.“

“Yes, we can do that! We just need the will to do that.”

Don’t read that too fast and let it sink in. A socialist will take your individual liberty and property, and a patent is a protection of freedom of intellectual property.

“We just need the will to do that.”

The will to take away liberty.

Harris is thankfully at 2% in many polls but she is not alone. Senator Elizabeth Warren said something very similar nearly a year ago, prior to announcing her presidential campaign.

“In market after market, competition is dying as a handful of giant companies spend millions to rig the rules, insulate themselves from accountability, and line their pockets at the expense of American families.”

Elizabeth Warren, December of 2018, from POLITICO
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So Warren’s solution at that time? According to POLITICO:

“…a bill…that would effectively create a government-run pharmaceutical manufacturer to mass-produce generic drugs and bring down prices, several sources in her office told POLITICO.”

Sure sounds like what Underwood’s 5PP will lead to if all of its components ever became law.

Socialism is for real and the Democrats, including Underwood, are pushing it particularly with prescription drugs.

Thankfully, President Trump and Washington Republicans are fighting back with the truth.

After filing their candidacy petitions in Springfield on Monday, one can only hope 6th and 14th district Republican candidates will join this fight, and say so publicly and in writing.

Then we’ll all have an additional something to be thankful for on Thanksgiving Day amid the many blessings we have in our nation.

Links:

• POLITICO 2018: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/17/elizabeth-warren-bill-drug-manufacturing-prices-1067916
• Pharma perspective: https://innovation.org/about-us/commitment/accessibility-affordability/providing-patients-with-cost-information-and-tools-to-navigate-insurance-coverage