CAPD Statement on CBO Estimates of Expected Savings from the CREATES Act
The Coalition for Affordable Prescription Drugs (CAPD), a diverse group of employers, labor unions, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), health plans, and state employees and retirees, issued the following statement in response to new estimates from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), regarding the expected savings from passage of the CREATES Act:
“For all of the rhetoric around efforts to reduce skyrocketing drug prices, the CREATES Act represents a real solution – one that would reduce prescription drug costs by nearly $4 billion. Much of these savings would be the result of bringing lower-cost generic drugs and biosimilars to market faster – reducing total spending for a given drug by about 50 percent. For too long, brand name drug companies have been able to game the system by delaying lower-cost generics, and passage of the CREATES Act would go a long way in cracking down on these abuses and increasing access to lower-cost alternatives for patients.”
“CBO’s savings estimate provides clear evidence that the CREATES Act is an important step toward a better functioning marketplace by ensuring that big pharma isn’t actively thwarting competition. CAPD continues to urge Congress to pass this bill.”