I do not understand what Republicans are thinking.

Recently President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 which includes several provisions to reduce prescription drug costs for people with Medicare and also lower drug spending by the federal government. Sounds like a win-win; the people on Medicare save and so does the government.

But Republicans seem to disagree; they would like to repeal those provisions. Big pharma needs larger profits.

The Senate Bill 4953, Protect Drug Innovation Act, seems to advocate that although the rest of the world can negotiate prices, Americans should pay more to keep those big profits. Republicans seem to argue that the companies need Americans to subsidize the profits by paying list price so they can afford to provide the world with more and sometimes better drugs.

The bill is sponsored by Senator Mike Lee [R-UT] and cosponsored by Senators Cynthia Lummis [R-WY]. James Lankford [R-OK], and Marco Rubio [R-FL].

I do not understand.

• Why are these Senators in favor of higher drug prices for their constituents?
• Are the Senators dependent on contributions from Big Pharma?
• Do they think their constituents are more likely to own lots of Pharmaceutical stocks than depending on Pharmaceuticals for their health or maybe their life?