Republicans should get serious about drug prices

A New Year means many things to us; the start of a new fitness plan, a plan to save for retirement or a dream vacation — or maybe it means finally organizing that one drawer in the kitchen. One far less exciting prospect of each new year is the raise to prescription drug prices occurring on Jan. 1.

According to GoodRx Health, 658 brand drugs have increased by an average of 4.9 percent and 11 generic drugs have increased by an average of 10.3 percent. What makes this rise in prescription prices especially frustrating is that at the end of 2021, congressional Democrats passed the Build Back Better plan for Americans that addressed the rising cost of prescription drug prices. Most Republicans including Sen. Chuck Grassley and Rep. Ashley Hinson have promised to lower drug prices for Iowans. So far, those campaign promises have not become a reality for the Iowans they promised to help. Instead of lower drug prices in 2022, Iowans are faced with continually rising prices while big pharmaceutical companies make record profits. If Republican lawmakers want to complain about rising prices impacting Iowans, they need to look no further than the costs of prescriptions. It’s time for congressional Republicans to get serious about lowering the cost of prescription drug prices.

Mary Burke, RN

Lisbon