This legislation poses the danger of decimating New Jersey’s workforce and economy.
New Brunswick, Sept. 20, 2019 ― HealthCare Institute of New Jersey (HINJ) President and Chief Executive Officer Dean J. Paranicas today issued the following statement about H.R. 3:
“The HealthCare Institute of New Jersey (HINJ) has very serious concerns with H.R. 3, the drug pricing proposal introduced this week in the U.S. House of Representatives.
This legislation would not only utterly devastate medical innovation, it also poses the danger of decimating New Jersey’s workforce and economy.
This bill would fundamentally alter the current market-based Medicare system by imposing government price controls, some of which would be based on foreign government-run health care systems. These price controls would do little to help patients afford their healthcare, while at the same time arresting the remarkable progress the life sciences sector has made in advancing global human health.
As the Medicine Chest of the World, the potentially catastrophic economic impacts of this bill would be substantial for New Jersey. Our state’s biopharmaceutical jobs, vendor spending, construction activity, tax ratables, charitable donations and other workforce and economy issues are all at risk of being seriously and adversely impacted.
While HINJ strongly opposes H.R. 3, we will continue working with our federal and state policymakers to address health care costs in ways that actually help patients. Passing on negotiated savings directly to patients, capping out-of-pocket costs for patients and pursuing value-based contracts can all help to lower health care costs without devastating future medical innovation and New Jersey’s economic engine.”