Scott Perry on prescription drug costs: ‘Big Pharma does a lot of good things, too’

During a tele-town hall on April 2, U.S. Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) came to the defense of Big Pharma after a constituent urged him to do something about prescription drug prices increasing. Perry’s response came after a woman detailed how her prescription had exponentially increased after President Donald Trump removed a provision from the Biden administration allowing Medicare to negotiate the price of drugs. “Why isn’t the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) looking at this waste and abuse? Are there backroom shenanigans with Big Pharma?” the woman asked. “We need government staff that’s getting fired to do this work of looking into this kind of waste that’s making Medicare pay 100 times more for a prescription that’s contraindicated and not covering something that I am on a fixed income that actually does benefit me and make me healthier. So as my representative, what are you going to do about this, and looking into this waste, and abuse, and fraud.” The woman also claimed that when she called Perry’s office earlier, his staff gave her a statement blaming the news media for her issue despite this being her lived experience. Perry responded by deflecting responsibility and asserting that Big Pharma isn’t that bad. “And I don’t want to be a guy that just picks on Big Pharma for it, because you know, Big Pharma does a lot of good things for this country too in providing cures and the medicines that help people get through their daily lives.”

When asked about the rising costs of prescription drug prices, Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) says he doesn’t want to pick on Big Pharma. “And I don’t want to be a guy that just picks on Big Pharma for it, because you know, Big Pharma does a lot of good things for our country too.” pic.twitter.com/VnMejg2wOL

— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) April 8, 2025

Perry went on to blame the lack of connections between certain databases and claim that the DOGE is working to fix it. In January, Perry introduced House Resolution 191, a bill that would repeal the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which lowered prescription drug prices for Medicare recipients. Perry has also received significant campaign donations from Big Pharma-linked dark money groups. Last month, Perry also said he was proud to vote for a budget resolution that will likely make significant cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, claiming that legitimate enrollees wouldn’t be affected. However, the budget could potentially see as much as $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid. Perry is the former chair of the House Freedom Caucus, and he was heavily involved in Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. After Perry’s phone was confiscated by the FBI, a lawsuit was filed to remove him from the primary ballot in Pennsylvania, which was unsuccessful. Perry narrowly won reelection by 5,133 votes last November after a competitive race with former TV anchor Janelle Stelson.