GOP Group Launches $2.9m Ad Campaign Against Medicare Negotiating Drug Prices

A leading GOP-aligned group is launching a $2.9 million ad campaign to fight back against calls to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices. The ad campaign from the American Action Network (AAN) targets 46 Republican House lawmakers and 11 Republican senators, calling on them not to break ranks and join the Democratic proposal. The mail, print and digital ad campaign comes as efforts to lower drug prices ramp up. While members of both parties are calling for action, Republicans have still largely steered clear of the signature Democratic proposal to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices directly. “Government interference will limit seniors’ choices in Medicare Part D” reads a mail ad from the group, next to photos of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). The GOP lawmakers being targeted include some of the more vulnerable GOP senators up for reelection in 2020, such as Sens. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). Opponents of Medicare negotiating drug prices argue that the idea will only work if the government has the power to exclude coverage of certain drugs, in order to gain leverage in the negotiations. They say the government should not be deciding which drugs are covered.

Source/more: The Hill