TUCSON, Ariz. , June 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — In a letter to the senator. Charles Schumer and sen. Mitch McConnellThe Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), along with many other organizations, opposes the 95% tax on prescription drugs contained in HR 5376, the “Build Back Better Act.”
Such a large tax would almost double the price of any prescription drug subject to it, the letter points out. This tax would be imposed on millions of Americans earning far less than $400,000 per year — the very people President Biden promised not to raise taxes on.
The alternative to the tax is for manufacturers to agree to government price controls. Throughout recorded history, price controls have always led to scarcity and rationing, the letter says. Ultimately, they mean the government will decide who is qualified to receive the product. In addition, funds for research and development of new products will dry up.
AAPS promotes price transparency as a tool to reduce costs through choice. Medical costs are as ‘clear as peanut butter’, writes former APSA president Marilyn Singleton, MD, JD A particularly important obscure area is that of “discounts” to Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs). AAPS opposes drug pricing legislation that does not address this source of enormous cost to consumers.
The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) has been a national organization representing physicians of all specialties since 1943. Its motto is omnia pro aegroto (everything for the patient).
SOURCE Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS)
