Upon reassuming office, President Donald Trump swiftly embarked on a mission to rectify one of the most egregious blunders performed by his predecessor, Joe Biden – namely, the enactment of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). To commence this monumental operation, Trump resorted to employing executive power to curtail the IRA’s ludicrously futile green-energy initiatives. However, this is but a mere introduction in combating the extensive havoc caused by this ill-conceived piece of legislation. A joint collaboration between executive and legislative bodies will be vital in shielding the public from the act’s worst-lasting impacts.
Perhaps the most effective point of action resides within the EPIC Act, a succinct bill that eradicates a damaging IRA policy, which currently hampers the research and development of much-needed new medicines. The integration of the EPIC Act language within the budget reconciliation legislation – a matter Congress is poised to address soon – would pave the way for American pioneers to help shape the future of medical innovation.
Despite being unconvincingly marketed as a crucial investment in future generations, the IRA held an agenda far removed from its purported ideals. Quite the contrary, the act primarily served as a lavish windfall for preferred Democratic interest groups, beginning with an absurd $780 billion allocated for the clean-energy industry by 2031.
But the harms inflicted by the IRA didn’t stop there. Another of its egregious features was a significant increase in healthcare costs for senior citizens participating in the Medicare Part D drug benefit program. Due to several adaptations introduced under the IRA, insurance providers were left with no alternative but to raise premiums significantly.
Nevertheless, Biden’s administration didn’t seek to resolve the root cause of these inflating premiums. Instead, it resorted to employing borrowed funds to conceal the issue through a farcical ‘premium stabilization’ scheme. This charade involved paying insurers billions to insulate consumers from increases that they had inadvertently initiated.
Regrettably, one of the IRA’s main components involved granting Medicare officials the authority to impose lower medication prices on drug manufacturers, pertaining to an ever-growing list of covered drugs. Rather than acting in the public’s best interests, this amounted to a considerable barrier to groundbreaking medical advancements, as it stifled the returns on investment and, in turn, stifled innovation.
As a consequence, we now see an alarming contraction in the field of prescription drug research. The so-called ‘pill penalty’ creates a monumental disincentive for the exploration in small molecule drug development. Economists predict that this will result in 79 fewer new drugs in this domain over the coming two decades.
This equates to a drastically diminished potential for new treatments for life-threatening ailments such as cancer and heart disease. It’s a stark reality undoubtedly undesirable to any ordinary American citizen, particularly those located in Tennessee – where health concerns are unusually high.
Tennessee, in particular, grapples with a myriad of daunting health issues, including subpar life expectancy rates and an alarming prevalence of conditions such as diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. It is therefore all the more necessary for the state’s citizens – and indeed, all Americans – to hope for a change of course from Biden and Harris’ damaging health policies.
With such imminent health challenges, it’s imperative Congress takes actions to rectify this damaging component of the IRA. Through the EPIC Act, the ‘pill penalty’ could be eradicated, enabling all novel drugs a 13-year relief period from price controls upon FDA approval.
But let us not be fooled, the introduction of the EPIC Act is only a beginning. It does not offer a panacea for the myriad of ailments inflicted by the IRA on America’s health and economy. However, it does provide a step in the right direction – initiating the process that will hopefully lead to better policy and more opportunities for Americans to lead long, healthy lives.
It’s essential to bear in mind that the endeavours of the Trump administration represent attempts to clean up the mess created by the ill-considered decisions of Biden and his accomplices. It’s ironic to consider that the ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ has done little but cause inflation in healthcare costs for America’s seniors, while tarnishing the prospects for medical innovation.
In summary, the Biden administration’s harmful IRA policy, under the guise of clean energy and healthcare reform, only deepens the economic damage inflicted upon Americans. Nevertheless, through the unwavering efforts of Trump, and with the potential implementation of the EPIC Act, there is hope for the healing of America’s health sector and economy.