Fiscal Tax Blog

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American patients shouldn’t foot the bill for the world’s medicines

Heading into November, voters rank healthcare costs as their single biggest economic worry. For the first time since Kaiser Family Foundation began tracking the question in 2018, a majority now say they’re specifically anxious about affording their prescriptions. And right now, voters trust Democrats more than Republicans to do something about it, by roughly 12 points, and by a similar margin on drug affordability specifically. Republicans can close that gap. We have the ideas that…

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The Inflation Reduction Act’s broken promise is still costing patients

When President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, his administration promised it would make prescription drugs more affordable and accessible for seniors. Yet the results tell a different story. A recent analysis found that nearly one in four initial attempts by patients to fill a prescription for one of the first drugs selected for Medicare’s drug price negotiation program was rejected. Patients relying on immunology and oncology treatments felt this even more intensely,…

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Use Trade Policy to Push Wealthy Nations to Pay More for Meds

President Trump just announced another round of agreements with pharmaceutical companies under his “most-favored-nation” drug pricing initiative. The nine new deals bring the total number of participating manufacturers to 26, covering nearly 90% of the branded-drug market. The campaign targets a real problem. Many wealthy countries use price controls to pay far less for new medicines than Americans do.

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How to Win 2026 Part 5: A Healthier America

American families are paying nearly the price of a new car every year just for job-based family health insurance. Then come the deductibles, copayments, prescription drugs, and medical bills that too often seem impossible to understand. Healthcare is nearly one-fifth of the American economy. It affects affordability, wages, the federal budget, and ultimately whether Americans live healthier and longer lives. That makes healthcare one of the most important issues in the 2026 election. In the…

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It’s Time To Stop Wealthy Nations Freeloading on US Medicines

For over a year, German officials have obstructed one of the Trump administration’s most important reform initiatives. And the president’s patience just ran out. The White House has repeatedly asked allied countries to roll back their price controls on prescription drugs. If those nations started paying market prices for medicines invented and manufactured in the United States, it would relieve the pressure on American patients, employers, and taxpayers—who are currently forced to fund a disproportionate…

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Biden-Era Law That Created Medicare Drug Price Controls Could Hike Up Prices, Analysts Warn

Medicare’s drug price controls could restrict Americans’ ability to access care and potentially drive up costs in the long term, according to analysts. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed into law by then-President Joe Biden in August 2022, authorized the U.S. federal government to negotiate prices for certain high-cost prescription drugs covered by Medicare through the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program. While congressional Democrats previously claimed the IRA would help bring down healthcare prices, analysts warned the Daily Caller News Foundation that such price controls might limit…

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New Voter Survey Findings on Healthcare Issues in Senate Battleground States

The Council for Affordable Health Coverage commissioned a survey of 1,240 respondents from the nine key Senate battleground states focused on healthcare issues heading into the 2026 midterm elections. 79% of likely battleground voters say the cost of healthcare will be very important to their vote.

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States Should Not Wait Until 2028 to Open PBMs’ Books

Prescription drug prices do not become opaque by accident. They become opaque because the middlemen who manage drug benefits are allowed to hide many of their revenue streams from the employers, insurers, pharmacies, and patients who ultimately pay the bill. Congress has already recognized the problem. Federal pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reporting requirements are scheduled to reshape what PBMs must disclose, but many of the most important provisions will not take effect until 2028. That delay creates…