Pass the EPIC Act, Repeal the Pill Penalty

Congress made a bit of a mess with the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), so it’s good to see Florida lawmakers like Rep. Neal Dunn working in Washington to clean things up.

With its heavy-handed government price-setting policies, the IRA’s “pill penalty” poses a threat to patients who take prescription drugs regularly. This penalty essentially penalizes drug companies for developing medications that come in pill or tablet form as opposed to ones that come in the form of IVs, infusions, or injectables.

Less investment in developing pill-form medications could likely translate to higher costs for patients. That’s because the pill penalty also decreases the likelihood of new generic forms of medication making their way to the market. In doing so, the pill penalty could increase out-of-pocket costs for patients and their families.

At a time when Americans are struggling with high inflation and a rising cost of living, the last thing policymakers should be doing is threatening to take away the cost savings that generic medications provide patients. That’s why lawmakers should come together—Republican and Democrat alike—to pass the EPIC Act and repeal the pill penalty before it can cause
real harm.

Rep. Dunn deserves a lot of credit for helping fix this problem. He should keep pushing his colleagues to support and pass the EPIC Act ASAP.

Christi Griner
Chairman, Liberty for Florida