During a LIVE NOW Senate hearing on the high cost of prescription drugs, CEOs from Johnson & Johnson, Merck, and Bristol Myers Squibb faced questions about why Americans pay the highest prices globally for medications. The CEO of Johnson & Johnson pointed out that drug costs do not represent a larger share of U.S. health spending compared to other countries, with both hospital and drug prices being significantly higher in the U.S. The pharma CEOs acknowledged the high prices, attributing them to the system, especially REBATES, and argued that the U.S.'s better access to drugs makes direct price comparisons with other countries unfair. Sen. Romney suggested the hearing might not be targeting the correct culprits responsible for the high costs. Public Citizen criticized Big Pharma for failing to reduce drug prices for struggling Americans, despite their substantial profits.
Big Pharma CEOs did exactly what they always do: Claim they can’t reduce drug prices for struggling Americans while spending billions making themselves and their shareholders richer https://t.co/v1om7YXR6E https://t.co/AK7MZerXW6
"We may not have the right bad guys here," Sen. Romney said at today's drug-pricing hearing with CEOs of Merck, J&J, and Bristol Myers Squibb. https://t.co/WoQfw4R5fE
The TL;DR from pharma CEOs today: yes prices are high, but that's the system we live in. Blame the system esp. REBATES, and also the U.S. gets better access so you can't compare to other countries
In a Senate hearing, the CEO of Johnson & Johnson points out that drugs do not represent a larger share of health spending compared to other countries. That's true, because both hospital prices and drug prices are much higher in the U.S. than in other high-income countries.
We’re LIVE NOW to answer a simple question: Why does the U.S. pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs? I look forward to hearing from the CEOs of Johnson&Johnson, Merck and Bristol Meyers Squibb on this very serious issue. https://t.co/cafXdt00lY