On Thursday Sen. John Cornyn of Texas voted against a proposal trying to prevent drug makers from raising their prices above the rate of inflation. Modern Healthcare, a marquee health care news magazine that is nonpartisan, reported Cornyn’s rationale was that drug manufacturers would have to “eat the cost” of any price caps on their drugs.
The nation’s biggest pharmaceutical companies were vehemently against the proposal, called the Toomey Amendment. Cornyn has received over $1.5 million from the pharmaceutical and insurance industry as a U.S. Senator.
The measure, which the White House and many Republicans supported, ultimately passed a Senate committee. Nine Republicans, including Cornyn, voted against it.
“The GOP’s internal fight over the finance legislation underscores a deep divide between the Trump administration and many Senate Republicans over how far the party should be willing to stray from pharmaceutical company interests in the quest to lower prices,” noted Modern Healthcare.
It looks like Cornyn isn’t willing to stray very far from big pharma companies. He sided with them, said the Texas Democratic Party, “over the needs of Texas seniors. You can’t trust John Cornyn to put the interests of Texans over his own.”
