Collins voted against cracking down on secret deals made by pharmaceutical companies to delay access to cheaper generic drugs
Senator Susan Collins voted twice to allow drug companies to make secret deals to delay the release of cheaper generic drugs, forcing Mainers to pay more for the prescriptions they need.
Collins voted against efforts to crack down on so-called “pay-for-delay” agreements, in which drug manufacturers pay their competitors not to manufacture generic versions of their product. Brand name drugs involved in pay-for-delay deals cost an average of ten times more than their generic equivalents.
Collins has accepted more than $1.4 million from the pharmaceutical and insurance industries, and she has a long history of voting to pad their profits. She voted for the GOP tax bill that helped the top four big pharma companies get $7 billion in tax breaks, and she voted repeatedly against closing the Medicare prescription drug donut hole that forced seniors to pay more.
“There is no good reason for Senator Collins to vote against cracking down on shady practices that make drugs more expensive for Mainers, but she did it twice,” said Maine Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Marra. “We need a Senator who cares more about making sure Mainers can afford their prescriptions than inflating the profits of the pharmaceutical companies that bankroll their campaigns.”
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