Pharmaceutical CEOs too cowardly to appear before Senate Finance Committee; lackeys instead try to blame the 340B drug discount program, which is only a tiny sliver of the $457 billion U.S. drug market
Pharmaceutical CEOs too cowardly to appear before Senate Finance Committee; lackeys instead try to blame the 340B drug discount program, which is only a tiny sliver of the $457 billion U.S. drug market
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- US Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) convened an historic hearing on drug prices earlier today and he and the committee ranking member, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), opened it by slamming drug industry CEOs for not appearing at this public hearing. They sent their paid lackeys instead.
Pharma CEOs were too cowardly to answer for their greedy conduct. In their place they sent American Action Forum’s President Douglas Holtz-Eakin and Peter Bach, Director of Memorial Sloan Kettering Center for Health Policy and Outcomes. American Action Forum has taken millions from the drug industry. (OpenSecrets.org: Top Donors, 2018 Cycle; Top Donors, 2016 Cycle).
“Both Holz-Eakin and Bach stated that the 340B drug discount program drives up the cost of drugs, one of the many lies Big Pharma is spreading on Capitol Hill. 340B is a $6 billion program, a tiny sliver of the $457 billion US drug market. Elected officials everywhere are demanding progress on drug prices. They should leave 340B alone. It benefits non-profit clinics and hospitals. It costs taxpayers nothing. Greedy drug companies — through their hired guns like American Action Forum — are the only sector that wants to strangle the program in the name of reform. Congress should leave 340B alone because it’s working,” said John Hassell, National Director of Advocacy for AHF. “Help defend 340B, a vital part of the US health care safety net. Contact your U.S. Senator at (202) 224-3121 with this message: Leave 340B alone!”
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to over one million people in 43 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare and Instagram: @aidshealthcare.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190129005974/en/
Contacts
WASHINGTON
John Hassell, National Director of Advocacy, AHF
+1.202.774.4854 [cell]
John.hassell@aidshealth.org
LOS ANGELES
Ged Kenslea, Senior Director, Communications, AHF
+1.323.791.5526 [cell] +1.323.308.1833 [work]
gedk@aidshealth.org
Marin Austin, Communications Director, AHF
+1.323.333.7754 [cell]
marin.austin@aidshealth.org
Source: AIDS Healthcare Foundation
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