National Grange leery of drug price controls

Washington, DC (July 24, 2020) – Today, the National Grange released the following statement expressing concern with the Trump Administration’s announced executive order on implementation of an International Pricing Index.

National Grange President Betsy Huber said in the statement:

“The National Grange, on behalf of rural communities across the United States, is urging the Trump Administration to reconsider its proposed Executive Order that would implement an International Pricing Index (IPI), importing price controls and restrictive health care systems from foreign countries. While we support the Administration’s effort to lower health care costs, the IPI model will not directly reduce out-of-pocket costs for patients but instead restrict patient access to essential treatments and medication. There are better ways to cut drug costs – a serious concern for our nation’s most vulnerable populations including America’s rural citizens and agricultural producers.

Furthermore, this change would compound issues already affecting rural communities. In a recent 2020 Rural Health Report, we provide a thorough review of health care in rural communities before and during COVID-19. This report highlights the systemic issue of rural health disparities, and implementing IPI will increase those disparities and only create new health care obstacles in rural areas. We urge the administration to instead focus on policies that expand rather than take away resources for those most vulnerable populations and improve rather than stunt innovation that can improve care for all patients. This is especially important as our nation is in the grips of a pandemic the likes of which we have never before experienced, when we have called on our pharmaceutical researchers and manufacturers to bring about solutions in innovative ways.”

The National Grange is the oldest advocacy organization for rural America and agriculture. A fraternal, nonpartisan organization with about 150,000 members across about 1,700 local chapters and others throughout all 50 states, the Grange takes a stand on issues of importance brought through our grassroots policy making process.