Ron Johnson opposes lower drug costs because it's 'punishing the pharmaceutical industry'

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said this week that he opposed efforts to lower drug costs because it would result in "punishing the pharmaceutical industry."

During an interview on Monday, Fox radio host Brian Kilmeade told Johnson that allowing Medicare to bid on drug prices would be "bad" even if it lowers costs.

"The industry is going to pay a huge price and we're going to pay the price on innovation," Kilmeade declared.

"Correct," Johnson agreed. "You're absolutely right. When you start punishing the pharmaceutical industry, you're going to have less innovation; you are going to have fewer life-saving drugs. That's not a good thing."

Johnson alleged that Democrats would use any savings to Medicare from lower drug prices to fund climate programs.

According to the AARP senior vice president for government affairs Bill Sweeney, a bill recently passed by Democrats will lower the cost of medicine for seniors.

"When we talk about the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, the core component is the Medicare negotiation," Sweeney explained. "That is the long-term solution to the problem that we've been seeing for decades, which is out-of-control prescription drug prices."

Listen to the audio clip below or at this lilnk.