DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – During a roundtable discussion on healthcare costs in Dallas Monday, March 21, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Congressman Colin Allred heard from Dallas County leaders, organizations, and residents about their concerns, including the high costs of prescription drugs.
Speaker Pelosi said it’s time for Medicare to be able to negotiate with the pharmaceutical companies just like the Veterans Administration does.
“They’re saying well, we need the money for research. Really? Then stop spending it on tv. Many of the companies spend more money on TV ads then they do on research,” she said.
In a separate interview Monday, Republican Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne of the 24th Congressional District said she doesn’t want Medicare to be able to pick winners and losers among companies.
She also expressed concern about the companies’ ability to conduct research for new cures if they must negotiate with the government.
“I would hate to lose that incentive where they are looking at new cures for things like cancer, heart disease, and breast cancer specifically because they don’t feel like they’re able to put those dollar investments into research and development,” said U.S. Rep. Van Duyne.
But the two of them did agree when it comes to the amount of money taxpayers contribute to the research.
Speaker Pelosi said, “The federal government spends an enormous amount of money on biomedical research which is the basis for a lot of their research. The taxpayer pays for a lot of the running start of that research.”
Rep. Van Duyne said, “If you’re receiving dollars from NIH and they’re doing the work, I don’t think a private company should be able to benefit as well.”
The House passed a bill to lower prescription drugs costs but it didn’t pass in the Senate.
Speaker Pelosi said this has been a priority of hers since 2016 and she’s not giving up.
WATCH FULL INTERVIEW WITH REP. VAN DUYNE HERE