ABOUT DRUG PRICE CONTROLS

One of the lessons for Republicans in Congress from the 2020 election is that they should not be fooled into thinking the American people support socialism.

With control of the House, Senate, and the White House, Democrats are poised to push socialist policies including price controls on the entire health care system, Green New Deal mandates and subsidies, and massive tax hikes and spending. Republicans should reject these efforts knowing that they are unpopular with voters.

Let’s take one example: … Democrats in Congress passed and campaigned on the “Lower Drug Costs Now Act,” legislation that forced manufacturers to accept government-set prices as dictated by federal health bureaucrats or pay a 95% excise tax on hundreds of medicines. …The proposed 95% tax is so onerous that the Congressional Budget Office estimated that manufacturers would be forced to comply with government price setting or discontinue selling drugs in the U.S.

At a time when new cures and vaccines to fight the coronavirus pandemic are more important than ever, the proposal would also lead to 100 fewer new medicines over the next decade. …

When the bill was voted on in the House of Representatives, 191 Republicans … voted against this radical proposal. In response, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee launched ads attacking (them) for inaction.

How did this message play to the electorate? Not very well. House Democrats expected to pick up 10 to 15 seats, instead they lost that many. Senate Democrats only narrowly took back the Senate — again performing below their expectations. … Clearly, voters were not swayed by socialist policies.

Grover Norquist via RealClearWire