> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.fdaweb.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# PhRMA Spent $27.5 Million on Lobbying in 2018
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/phrma-spent-27-5-million-on-lobbying-in-2018/
- Published: 2019-01-23T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-15T00:56:23.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: FDA Policy/General, Drugs, #legacy-id-D5143209

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) says it spent a record $27.5 million on lobbying in 2018\. Bloomberg News [reports](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-22/big-pharma-lobby-group-spent-record-amount-as-reform-push-grows?ref=fdaweb.com) that the “surge in spending … came as the industry failed to win a last-minute legislative fix that would have reduced its share of outlays in a popular Medicare program, and as it prepared for what could be its most challenging year in decades.”

PhRMA’s biggest quarter was the first quarter of 2018, the news service says, with nearly $10 million spent. In the fourth quarter it spent more than $6 million to lobby Congress and the Trump administration.

Bloomberg notes that the PhRMA lobbying expense filings cover the period when the midterm elections were being held to determine control of Congress. Prescription drug costs were a leading campaign issue in many campaigns.

The article also details increased lobbying spending for several major branded drug companies.

Bloomberg says the industry failed in 2018 to have included in a year-end spending bill a provision to give it relief from large discounts it is required to offer some Medicare Part D beneficiaries. The current government shutdown made the effort moot, it says. The industry sought to undo legislation adopted nearly a year ago requiring drug makers to give 70% discounts, up from 50%, to Medicare beneficiaries who exceed a $3,750 annual cap on out-of-pocket drug costs. The news service reports an estimate that the inability to roll back the discount will cost drug makers as much as $1.9 billion in 2019.