Bloomington-Normal's Democratic congressman is reviving a bill aimed at lowering drug prices.
U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen's Stop Games Act seeks to scrutinize petitions to the Food and Drug Administration which block generic alternatives from reaching the market. Many of those petitions, he said during a virtual press conference on Monday, come from the drug companies producing brand names.
“They game the system so that they block competition, they keep generics off the market and then they keep their stock price high so that the profits are high,” said Sorensen, whose Western and Central Illinois district includes parts of Bloomington-Normal, Greater Peoria, the Quad Cities and Rockford.
Sorensen said the bill remedies needless delays getting FDA-approved generic drugs onto shelves.
“It makes me angry when I see Big Pharma put their TV commercials up, when advertisements are on digital—all the while they’re failing the people who are sick,” Sorensen said.
He said that will allow them to remain competitive with compounded alternatives, which can provide lower cost drugs to consumers but are unregulated by the FDA.
Sorensen first introduced the bill three years ago, where it fizzled in committee.
Republican Rep. Stephanie Bice of Oklahoma has cosigned on Sorensen’s efforts to re-energize the proposal, at a moment when affordability is top of mind for many American families.
“The shocking truth is more people than ever before are having to walk out of the pharmacy because they can’t what is in the orange bottle in that white bag,” Sorensen said.
Sorensen said he’s heard from constituents who are rationing pills or delaying refills in order to afford medications.
"No one should have to choose between paying for your medicine or paying your rent, or your utility bill, or your groceries," he said.
At the state level, a proposal seeks to take aim at drug companies another way. A bill awaiting a final vote in the Illinois House would restrict drug sellers from restricting healthcare providers with substantial care subsidies like Medicaid from blocking discounts that help such low- to no-cost care centers stay afloat.
