AOC unloads on Musk for killing reforms to lower drug prices
On Wednesday, Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York called out billionaire Elon Musk for killing proposals to reform pharmaceutical benefit managers in order to lower drug prices.
Ocasio-Cortez pointed out the overwhelming bipartisan support to reform PBMs, which act as negotiating entities overseeing prescription drug benefits for insurance plans. They have an almost monopolistic power over the drug supply chain. And she explained that reforms might have been passed … if Musk didn’t control the GOP.
“Now this bill was almost passed … within a bigger package to prevent the government shutting down,” she said during a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing. “Democrats supported it. Republicans supported it. So why isn’t this moving? Well … Elon Musk began firing off a barrage of social media posts opposing pharmacy benefit manager reform. And all of a sudden, this bill that had almost unanimous support fell apart in a matter of hours.”
Musk worked to kill a government funding bill that included reforms for PBMs. He said the bill was full of “pork.”
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