Article Summary –
Dave McCormick, a Pennsylvania Republican Senate nominee and former head of Bridgewater Associates, has advocated for the repeal of laws regulating health insurance and pharmaceutical negotiations with Medicare, benefiting companies he previously invested in. McCormick criticized Democratic Sen. Bob Casey’s support of the Inflation Reduction Act, which caps out-of-pocket drug costs and allows the federal government to negotiate drug prices, arguing that competition, rather than government intervention, is the solution to high drug prices. During his tenure at Bridgewater, the firm’s investments in health insurance and pharmaceutical companies significantly increased, and McCormick’s campaigns have received substantial donations from lobbyists representing the pharmaceutical industry, which opposes these cost-saving measures.
Pennsylvania Republican Senate nominee Dave McCormick has advocated for the repeal of laws regulating health insurance and requiring the pharmaceutical industry to negotiate drug prices with Medicare. As head of a Connecticut-based hedge fund, he benefited from companies that would gain from such repeals.
McCormick, who narrowly lost a 2022 Republican Senate primary to TV personality Mehmet Oz, is up against incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey in November’s election.
McCormick has criticized Casey’s 2022 vote for the Inflation Reduction Act, which invested in clean energy and capped Medicare Part D out-of-pocket costs. McCormick said in October 2023 that he wants to repeal the law. In August, he stated his opposition to the provision allowing the federal government to negotiate drug prices for Medicare Part D enrollees. “The best way to lower drug prices and healthcare costs is through competition,” McCormick said on “The Dawn Stensland Show” on WPHT in Philadelphia.
Before his 2022 Senate campaign, McCormick led Bridgewater Associates, earning $22 million annually, as per his April 2022 financial disclosure report. His recent disclosure shows he still owns over $50 million in Bridgewater equity and received $5 million in dividends last year.
When McCormick became co-CEO in 2017, Bridgewater held under $1 million in health insurance stocks — $993,000 in UnitedHealth Group Inc. By 2021, Bridgewater owned over $108 million in stocks from Anthem, Cigna, CVS Health, and Humana. Under the Affordable Care Act, these companies must spend at least 80% of premiums on patient care.
In his 2022 campaign, McCormick criticized Oz for supporting parts of the Affordable Care Act, which mandates coverage for annual checkups, flu shots, and prohibits discrimination against preexisting conditions. McCormick called Oz’s stance “counter to conservatism & in line with Hollywood.”
Casey voted for the Affordable Care Act and has supported efforts to expand it to reduce healthcare costs.
Under McCormick, Bridgewater increased its pharmaceutical holdings by 1,400%, from $78 million to $1.2 billion. Many of these investments were in companies flagged by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform in a December 2021 report for raising drug prices.
Three of these drugs will cost less for Medicare Part D beneficiaries under the first round of drug price negotiations starting in 2026. Prices will drop by 38% to 79%, saving Americans $1.5 billion and the government $6 billion in 2026.
McCormick has accepted campaign contributions from lobbyists for Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), which opposed the drug price negotiations.
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