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Inflation Reduction Act Medicare Prescription Drug Price Controls

Inflation Reduction Act’s Price Controls Are Deterring New Drug Development

As predicted, the Inflation Reduction Act’s misguided price-setting policy is already discouraging drug development. Rather than double down on it, as President Biden proposes doing in his budget, lawmakers ought to restore incentives to invest in the United States.

5 min read
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Tax Hike Proposals Live on Despite Being Dropped in the Inflation Reduction Act

President Biden proposed a 7-point hike in the corporate tax rate to 28 percent, a new minimum book tax on corporate profits, and higher taxes on international activity. We estimated these proposals would reduce the size of the economy (GDP) by 1.6 percent over the long run and eliminate 542,000 jobs.

6 min read
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The Inflation Reduction Act, What to Know

The Inflation Reduction Act would raise taxes on corporations and top earners with the goal of funding a number of programs to reduce carbon emissions, address prescription drug costs, and spur the economy. Garrett Watson joins Jesse Solis to talk through what these tax changes would mean for the economy: Will they reduce inflation, and do they break the President’s pledge not to raise taxes on those earning less than $400,000?

House Republicans' American Families and Jobs Act includes the Build It in America Act and Tax Cuts for Working Families Act. Explore House GOP tax plan.

Federal Policy is Hard

Federal policy is hard. Federal health care policy during reconciliation while governing with razor-thin margins is really, really hard. We break down the debate on Capitol Hill over drug pricing and what the tradeoffs would be of having the federal government set prescription drug prices.

Learn more about the HR 3 prescription drug bill (the Elijah Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act) and how it could reduce R&D spending and medical innovation. See more on pharmaceutical company revenues, emerging biopharma companies, and HR3 bill text.

H.R. 3 Would Reduce R&D Spending and Medical Innovation

Lawmakers are considering policy changes within the reconciliation bill that would reduce private R&D within the pharmaceutical industry and reduce the number of new drugs coming to market. Instead of hampering medical progress, policymakers should work to ensure that the tax code remains conducive to R&D spending and the resulting innovation.

5 min read
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Reviewing Wyden’s Reconciliation Tax Policy Proposals

Congressional lawmakers are putting together a reconciliation bill to enact much of President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda. Many lawmakers including Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR), however, want to make their own mark on the legislation.

5 min read
emergency savings accounts retirement savings accounts Build Back Better plan inflation Build Back Better plan deficit carbon tax reconciliation hr3 tax prescription drugs tax help pay for reconciliation, revenue for federal government retirement savings federal reform proposals SECURE Act Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021

Lawmakers’ Tax Rate to Help Pay for Reconciliation is 1,900 Percent

While the excise tax penalty in H.R. 3 is referred to as a 95 percent tax rate, it actually amounts to a 1,900 percent tax rate because of how the proposal defines the tax base. In other words, under the H.R. 3 tax penalty, a drug that sells for $100 would incur a $1,900 tax.

3 min read
SALT cap repeal, State and local tax deduction cap repeal (state and local tax cap). Repealing the cap on the State and Local Tax Deduction would be regressive and mainly benefit the wealthy SALT deduction cap, House Ways and Means Committee testimony, impact of limiting SALT deduction, SALT deduction cap, State and Local Tax Deduction cap

Paying for Reconciliation Bill with “Health Care Savings” Threatens Medical Innovation

One of the ways lawmakers intend to pay for $3.5 trillion of new spending in the budget reconciliation package is by creating “health care savings.” The leading proposal to achieve this is H.R. 3, the Elijah Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, which would change the way that prescription drug prices are negotiated under Medicare Part D.

5 min read