THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

The greed of Big Pharma apparently knows no bounds and their latest attempted theft is targeted at the public Treasury.

Drug companies usually get what they want in public-policy battles on Capitol Hill, but a move by the pharmaceutical industry to grab $4 billion from the federal Treasury in a bill that is supposed to address the nation’s deadly opioid epidemic is meeting fierce resistance.

At issue is a small measure that the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA, has deemed a “technical correction” to a bipartisan budget law signed by President Trump in February. The law required drug manufacturers to provide deeper discounts to Medicare beneficiaries whose spending on prescription drugs falls within a range called the coverage gap, or the “doughnut hole.” The discount, now 50 percent on brand-name drugs, is set to rise next year to 70 percent.

The change sought by the drug industry has nothing to do with the scourge of opioids, but such provisions are often tucked quietly into popular, swiftly moving bills, then discovered months later. In a sign of the times, members of Congress and consumer advocates quickly mobilized opposition.

The proposal “will increase prescription drug costs for older Americans while providing a windfall of billions of dollars to the drug industry,” said AARP, the lobby for 38 million Americans 50 and older.

Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the senior Democrat on the Finance Committee, said the relief for pharmaceutical companies would cost more than twice as much as the bill spends to prevent and treat opioid addiction.

Opponents said Monday that they were confident they could block the relief sought by drug companies, at least for now.

The Congressional Budget Office had initially estimated that the requirement for drug companies to provide larger discounts would reduce federal spending on Medicare’s drug benefit by a total of $7.7 billion through 2027. Shortly after the law was enacted, the budget office discovered additional information and raised its estimate of the savings to $11.8 billion.

Drug makers argue that Congress intended to save just $7.7 billion and should now give back the $4 billion difference. Medicare beneficiaries could still receive discounts of 63 percent, the industry says.

The pharmaceutical industry is truly something else. In a time of great profits and minimal corporate taxation they are trying to grab more. Is there no end to these pricks?