Thursday, October 13, 2022

Would Fung vote to raise drug prices? Of course he would

Fung's loyalty to would-be Speaker Kevin McCarthy will cost Rhode Islanders 

As a result of Allan Fung’s commitment to Kevin McCarthy, Rhode Islanders would soon see drug prices increase again under the extreme “Commitment to America” agenda Fung would enable. 

The “Commitment to America” plan released by McCarthy and his House Republicans allies last week would undermine the Affordable Care Act and repeal portions of the Inflation Reduction Act that lowered the cost of prescription drugs

This is consistent with Allan Fung’s opposition to the Inflation Reduction Act, and his advocacy for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, which helped 75,000 Rhode Islanders get the health insurance they need.  

“Allan Fung’s commitment to House Republican Leader McCarthy means drug prices will shoot back up and Big Pharma gets another billion-dollar handout under McCarthy's ‘Commitment to America’ agenda,” said Communications Director Patricia Socarras. 

“This would be a disaster for Rhode Islanders who depend on these medications and deserve access to affordable, high-quality healthcare. McCarthy is committed to an extreme agenda that hurts seniors and working people and Allan Fung will only enable McCarthy.”   

In stark contrast, Magaziner supported the Inflation Reduction Acct, which lowers costs for working people by allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prices from drug companies for the first time, caps out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs at $2,000, caps the price of insulin, expands American energy production, and reduces the federal deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars. 

The popular Inflation Reduction Act was passed without a single Republican vote. Fung also vowed not to support the Act, as a former insurance industry lobbyist who sided with the drug and insurance companies over working Rhode Islanders.