Profits or Profiteering? Former Congressman J.D. Hayworth Takes on Big Pharma

In this episode of Breaking Battlegrounds, former Congressman J.D. Hayworth joins hosts Chuck Warren and Sam Stone to expose what he calls a rigged system that benefits Big Pharma at the expense of everyday Americans.

Now representing the Pharmaceutical Reform Alliance, Hayworth delivers a scathing critique of an industry where profit margins soar to 76%—more than double the S&P 500 average—while millions of Americans struggle to afford basic medications. He argues that the U.S. system has allowed pharmaceutical companies to turn life-saving drugs into luxury items, with Americans paying two to three times more than citizens of other developed nations for the same medications.

The discussion digs into how these inflated prices aren’t just a healthcare issue—they're a pocketbook crisis, affecting families across the political spectrum. Hayworth highlights bipartisan polling that shows 84% of voters blame Big Pharma for the high cost of prescriptions, and 86% say it will influence their vote in the 2024 and 2026 elections.

Hayworth also explores how foreign nations benefit from U.S. pricing, as American consumers unknowingly subsidize lower drug costs worldwide. The episode also touches on the rare emergence of cross-party political momentum, with figures like Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaking out against pharmaceutical abuse.

This episode is a no-holds-barred look at corporate greed, political complicity, and what’s at stake if Americans don’t demand reform. As Hayworth says, “We’re not against profit—we’re against profiteering.”

Transcripts

Chuck Warren: So you are now the spokesperson for the Pharmaceutical Reform Alliance, and they are working on lowering drug prices. You know, there's a difference between profit and profiteering. What is the pharmaceutical industry doing? Are they profiting or are they profiteering on the American taxpayer?

Congressman J.D. Hayworth: I am so glad you made the distinction because no less a fan of profit than one Donald John Trump has made the same observation from behind the presidential podium. Let me just give you the numbers. And look, we all, I think, as capitalists, want to see profits.

But big pharma, you take the top companies, their profit margin is 76%.

Sam Stone: Oh, my God.

Congressman J.D. Hayworth: Compare and contrast that with the companies on the S&P 500 who operated about half that margin. So there's a clear difference.

Sam Stone: Or all the screaming about grocery stores, which operate on like a margin under 3%.

Congressman J.D. Hayworth: Yeah.

So you are looking at incredible profiteering. And the other thing that has happened, and even more so than the days when I was serving, and yes, you can check my record, and yes, I was part of the Ways and Means Committee when we expanded Medicare to include a prescription drug benefit.

But there is one thing that has become abundantly clear as the years have passed. Big Pharma puts Americans last. We are paying on average three times as much as other prescription drug users in the developed world. And that may be understating it. And yes, that's even taking into account generics and price breaks.

On average, Americans are paying three times as much. And when you have that kind of pocketbook issue, it will not surprise you that even when we hear all the wailing and gnashing of teeth about how polarized our country is, there is no polarization here. Between Main Street and your street.

Now, there may be some at one end of Pennsylvania Avenue up there on Capitol Hill, but the numbers are incredible. 84% of Americans are saying, look, we have got to have a change. And that's what President Trump has responded to. 84%, think about that. We measure a landslide at 60% of the vote,

which means a significant minority, 40%, have another choice. 84%, the American people say, regardless of party label, big pharma is to blame. Not doctors, not hospitals, none of the other stakeholders in health care, big pharma. And it's not demonization. It's taking a look at what's bedeviling people, and that is what they're paying for prescription drugs.

Sam Stone: And Congressman, this is a big part of the overall health care cost that has been ballooning for Americans. But what you're saying, Chuck and I have talked about this a little bit on our program before, is that Americans have been subsidizing the development of basically all the new drugs and medical technologies for the rest of the world for decades.

But on top of that, we're being fleeced by these companies. So we're being fleeced by Europeans. We're being fleeced by these companies. I mean, this does seem like an absolute softball of an issue for almost every elected official out there.

Congressman J.D. Hayworth: It is low-hanging fruit. And since you mentioned elected officials, you know, another election is coming up in two years. And what voters are saying now, and this is according to the polling we just completed into the first of the month by the Pharmaceutical Reform Alliance, now a full 86 percent of voters are saying, man this is going to have an impact.

If you don't stand up against big pharma, you're less likely to keep your seat or to gain a seat in the Congress of the United States. And that's just huge. But it dovetails. Guys, I've got to tell you, even last year, before we did this latest draft of polling,

we expect election years to be polarizing because issues are debated and differences are concentrated upon, if you will. But the Kaiser Family Foundation, in an election year, The numbers were staggering. 89% of Republicans, 84% of Democrats, 78% of independents said Big Pharma focuses on profits more than on people.

When you've got that across the board, no wonder President Trump has moved forward. It recalls, I believe, Disraeli. The British prime minister is reputed to have said, I must follow the people. After all, am I not their leader? And this is a classic case of it. The other thing that's different, the Make America Healthy Coalition,

and 18 months ago, if we had gotten together and talked about President Donald Trump welcoming Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. into his cabinet, People would have said, yeah, right, that's never going to happen. Despite all the attitude we get from the D.C. media and the elites on both coasts,

the fact is that President Trump has put together a nonpartisan team. As part of Team 47, searching for solutions as Americans. And that's why this resonates. It's because people look at this and look at what Big Pharma has done through the years as not being Republican or Democrat or even Libertarian or Vegetarian, but being inherently American.

This is an American problem that requires an American solution. And again, on Main Street and on the street where you live, It's probably the same thing, but there's a big difference. And I know we've got a lot to talk about, and I'll let you ask the questions.

Forgive me for launching into a filibuster and perhaps betraying unrealized political dreams.

Sam Stone: No, no, no.

So this is great stuff.

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