Although the Trump administration repeatedly promised to
lower drug prices, the reality is starkly different: prescription costs
continue to rise, leaving Americans to suffer while pharmaceutical companies
thrive. Behind the soaring prices are CEOs padding their paychecks,
corporations shielded by government-funded research, and generous tax breaks
that keep profits flowing.
The system is designed to let Big Pharma win.
Life-sustaining drugs like insulin have become the most glaring examples, with
patients forced into impossible choices—whether to buy medicine or pay
rent—while corporations play an endless game of profit-making, protected by
powerful allies in Washington.
But this cycle of corruption is not inevitable. Lawmakers
have tools to rein in Big Pharma’s influence if they are willing to act. One
step is banning lobbyists from fundraising for federal candidates. Today,
lobbyists often bypass the $2,800 per candidate donation cap by hosting lavish
fundraisers and bundling contributions—fueling special-interest dominance in
policymaking. Another reform would prohibit members of Congress from accepting
campaign donations from industries regulated by the committees on which they
serve. Voters recognize the dangers: 88 percent support such a ban.
Equally urgent is closing Washington’s notorious revolving
door between government and private industry. Proposals include a lifetime
lobbying ban for members of Congress and a five-year ban for senior staffers,
cutting off the pipeline that entrenches corporate power.
Until these reforms are enacted, Americans will remain
trapped in a broken system where Big Pharma profits while patients go without
care. The path to affordable medicine begins not only with drug pricing reform
but also with dismantling the culture of corruption that allows special
interests to thrive at the expense of public health.
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