New prescription drug legislation ‘aggressive’ but public should demand more, says Baker Institute health economist

EXPERT ALERT

Jeff Falk
713-348-6775
jfalk@rice.edu  

New prescription drug legislation ‘aggressive’ but public should demand more, says Baker Institute health economist

HOUSTON — (Dec. 12, 2019) – The House of Representatives is voting today on a bill to lower prescription drug prices.

Credit: 123RF.com/Rice University

Vivian Ho, the James A. Baker III Institute Chair in Health Economics at Rice University and director of the Baker Institute’s Center for Health and Biosciences, said the bill, H.R. 3, titled the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, has aggressive proposals and will “undoubtedly help to reduce drug spending for Medicare and for consumers.”

“But in the long run, the public should demand detailed information on research and development spending by pharmaceutical companies,” Ho said. “Only then will we be able to determine whether the prices drug companies are charging reflect innovation that will yield new drug discoveries, or whether high prices are just pure profit-taking.”

Ho is available to discuss the issue with the news media.

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The Baker Institute has a radio and television studio available for media who want to schedule an interview with Ho. For more information, contact Jeff Falk, associate director of national media relations at Rice, at jfalk@rice.edu or 713-348-6775.

Related materials:

Ho bio: www.bakerinstitute.org/experts/vivian-ho

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Follow the Baker Institute’s Center for Health and Biosciences via Twitter @BakerCHB.

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Founded in 1993, Rice University’s Baker Institute ranks among the top three university-affiliated think tanks in the world. As a premier nonpartisan think tank, the institute conducts research on domestic and foreign policy issues with the goal of bridging the gap between the theory and practice of public policy. The institute’s strong track record of achievement reflects the work of its endowed fellows, Rice University faculty scholars and staff, coupled with its outreach to the Rice student body through fellow-taught classes — including a public policy course — and student leadership and internship programs. Learn more about the institute at www.bakerinstitute.org or on the institute’s blog, http://blog.bakerinstitute.org.