Miller-Meeks was cozy with Big Pharma despite her claims that she was working to lower the cost of prescription drugs.
March 2025: Miller-Meeks Said The Price Of Drugs Was Excessive And Claimed As A Physician She Knew That Rising Drug Costs Could Hurt Patients. According to an email sent by Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, "Americans are struggling under the burden of skyrocketing prescription drug prices, and one of the biggest culprits behind these costs is the unchecked power of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs). These middlemen have amassed excessive control over drug pricing, driving up costs for patients while squeezing out local pharmacies. It's time to change the system. As a physician, I have seen firsthand how rising drug costs impact patients, forcing them to choose between essential medications and other basic needs." [Email – Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, 3/23/25; Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Opinion – Newton News, 3/28/25]
June 2024: Miller-Meeks Opposed Federal Drug Price Negotiation Programs Because She Believed It Had A “Dampening Effect” On Innovation. According to Fierce Healthcare, "Miller-Meeks believes balancing innovation with lower drug prices comes from reforming pharmacy benefit managers—a bipartisan, but stagnant, topic in Congress. One bill she supports would ban spread pricing and save the government more than $600 million, though she never supported the drug price negotiation program due to its effects on innovation. ‘It has already had a dampening effect,’ she said. Republicans have maintained the IRA’s drug price negotiation program will hinder and disincentivize innovation of drug development. Democrats say the legislation accomplishes its goal of lowering prescription drug prices." [Fierce Healthcare, 6/27/24]
September 2023: Miller-Meeks Expressed Opposition To Inflation Reduction Act Price Negotiation Provisions. According to a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing, “MILLER-MEEKS: The ‘Make America Lose Again’ Democrats have already forgotten that without price negotiation in Medicare Part D we developed $4 generic drugs. Walmart came out with $4 generic drugs. Had there been Medicare price negotiations in Part D that would have never happened. I’ve already met with companies who, with all due respect, saying that generics and biosimilars will bring to competition, but generics and biosimilars also suffer under the IRA and will not come out sooner.” [Hearing – U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, 9/20/23] (video) 01:49:49-01:50:19
November 2021: Miller-Meeks Opposed The Idea Of Allowing The Federal Government To Negotiate The Cost Of Prescription Drugs, Claiming She Did Not Want To Give The Government More Control. According to Radio Iowa, "Republican Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Ottumwa says she’s opposed to having the federal government negotiate to lower the prices of prescription medicine covered by Medicare. Democrats have inserted this proposal in a bill that may be voted upon today. Miller-Meeks, an eye doctor, says prescription drug cost controls would interfere with the doctor-patient relationship. ‘When we give the government more control, we undermine what a physician — all of their knowledge, all of their experience, that of our compounding pharmacists, those with health care experience — and how they can prescribe the best treatments for their patients,’ Miller-Meeks said during an online forum organized by the House GOP Leader’s office, ‘so it’s a tremendous concern to all of us — not just price, but also access to care, but also access to quality care.’" [Radio Iowa, 11/5/21]
2022: Miller-Meeks Voted Against The Inflation Reduction Act, Which Capped The Annual Out-Of-Pocket Limit At $2,000 For Medicare Part D. In August 2022, according to Congressional Quarterly, Miller-Meeks voted against concurring in the Senate amendment to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which “For Medicare Part D, it would cap the annual out-of-pocket limit at $2,000.” The vote was on a motion to concur. The House concurred with the Senate by a vote 220-207, thus the bill was sent to President Biden for final signage. President Biden signed the bill and it ultimately became law. [House Vote 420, 8/12/22; Congressional Quarterly, 8/12/22; Congressional Actions, H.R. 5376]
Miller-Meeks Accepted A Donation From A Major Insulin Manufacturer On The Same Day She Voted Against Capping The Price Of Insulin. According to CBS 2 Iowa, "The issue of so-called special interest money came to a head this month when donations first reported by Iowa Starting Line highlighted the amount of money Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks receives from pharmaceutical and health companies. The report highlighted a $1,000 donation from a PAC representing drug maker Eli Lilly’s interests made the same day that Miller-Meeks voted against the Inflation Reduction Act. Eli Lilly is a manufacturer of insulin. Now signed into law, the Inflation Reduction Act includes a cap on some insulin prices, as well as giving Medicare the ability to negotiate lower prices on a select list of drugs." [CBS 2 Iowa, 8/15/24]
August 2022: Miller-Meeks Took $1,000 From An Insulin Maker On The Same Day She Voted Against A Bill To Cap Insulin Costs And Allow The Government To Negotiate Medicare Drug Costs. According to Iowa Starting Line, “Before voting against a bill that would cap insulin costs and allow the government to negotiate Medicare drug costs, Republican Rep. Marianette Miller-Meeks, who represents Iowa’s First Congressional District in southeast Iowa, took thousands from an insulin manufacturer and other pharmaceutical companies. Records from the Federal Election Commission show Miller-Meeks received $1,000 from Eli Lilly and Company PAC on Aug. 12, 2022, the day the Inflation Reduction Act was voted on in the US House of Representatives.” [Iowa Starting Line, 8/9/24]
Over The Course Of Her Congressional Career, Mariannette Miller-Meeks Had Accepted $264,498 In Campaign Contributions From The Pharmaceutical/Health Products Industry. According to OpenSecrets, Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ campaign had accepted $264,498 in contributions from the “pharmaceutical/health products” industry over her career in congress. [OpenSecrets, Viewed 8/25/25]
Over The Course Of Her Congressional Career, Mariannette Miller-Meeks Had Accepted $83,137 In Campaign Contributions From The Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Industry. According to OpenSecrets, Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ campaign had accepted $83,137 in contributions from the “pharmaceutical manufacturing” industry over her career in congress. [OpenSecrets, Viewed 8/25/25]