No one in Louisiana should ever be forced to choose between affording a life-saving medication and keeping the lights on or putting food on the table. Yet, that is the agonizing reality for families across our state. More than a quarter of Americans are struggling to pay for their prescriptions. Sadly, many Louisianans who rely on prescription drugs to treat life-threatening illnesses and conditions have resorted to rationing or foregoing their medications due to financial strain.

These struggles aren’t unique to Louisiana. Across the country, Americans consistently say that the soaring cost of health care, especially prescription drugs, is one of their biggest affordability challenges.

There’s little wonder about who’s to blame. Large pharmaceutical companies have rigged the system to put astronomical profits ahead of people. Every year, Big Pharma hikes the price of basic, life-saving medications, not to reinvest in research and development, but to pay out their shareholders and executives. However, there is hope on the horizon. Lawmakers in Washington are working to hold Big Pharma accountable, and Louisiana is at the absolute center of the effort in Congress to make prescription drugs affordable again.

Our state’s congressional delegation holds some of the most powerful positions in Washington. Speaker Mike Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise together control the agenda of the House of Representatives. In the Senate, Senator Bill Cassidy serves as the Chairman of the powerful Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, which often takes the lead on health care policy in Congress’ upper chamber. These leaders have often spoken about the need to lower health care costs. And in the coming months, they’ll have the chance to work with President Trump as his administration to take decisive action.

Later this year, the Trump administration will be able to deploy a significant tool to deliver lower costs for patients. The administration will finally be able to use Medicare to negotiate directly with prescription drug prices. Allowing Medicare to finally sit at the table and negotiate prescription drug prices directly on behalf of the American people will help bring down prices for all patients. This is a common-sense reform designed to stop Americans from paying the highest prices in the world for their medicine. But these price reducing efforts are under attack by the industry that relies so heavily on inflated costs to boost their profits.

Big Pharma lobbyists are scrambling to protect the broken status quo that has made them billions. Their latest scheme, the EPIC Act, is a blatant attempt to gut Medicare’s new negotiating power before it even begins, ensuring their profits remain high at the expense of patients.

This is where the power of Louisiana’s delegation becomes critical. Speaker Johnson, Leader Scalise, and Chairman Cassidy are in a decisive position to stop Big Pharma’s bailout attempt and ensure a bill like the EPIC Act never makes it to the floor for a vote. As HELP chairman, Senator Cassidy is a crucial gatekeeper who can stop the pharmaceutical industry’s attempts to keep prices high for patients.

Americans have already begun registering their frustration at the ballot box, elevating candidates who promise to bring costs down and hold the corporate actors behind price hikes accountable. Just look at recent elections in states like New Jersey, Virginia, and Georgia – voters are rewarding leaders who take affordability seriously. With next year’s midterms approaching, Speaker Johnson, Leader Scalise, and Chairman Cassidy have every reason to show they’re listening. Delivering real progress on prescription drug pricing isn’t just the right policy for patients, it’s a winning strategy for retaining the speakership, preserving the majority leader’s gavel, and keeping Louisiana in a position of national leadership.

Our legislators must stand strongly with President Trump and the families of Louisiana, or side with the D.C. swamp and Big Pharma lobbyists.

Lenar Whitney represented House District 53 from 2012-2016 and served as Republican National Committeewoman for Louisiana from 2012-2024.