Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America spent $27.5 million on lobbying in 2018, breaking the previous record set by the trade group in 2009, when Congress was working to pass the ACA, according to Bloomberg.
PhRMA spent more than $6 million to lobby Congress and the Trump administration in the fourth quarter of 2018. The largest outlay came in the first three months of last year, when the top lobbying group spent $10 million.
The spending spike came as the industry attempted to get Congress to allow it to roll back discounts it's required to offer some Medicare beneficiaries and was pressured more than ever to lower drug prices.
The failed effort to roll back the Medicare discounts will cost drug makers $1.9 billion in 2019, according to one estimate cited by Bloomberg.
Lobbying spending for a handful of pharmaceutical companies also increased in the fourth quarter of 2018, including Johnson & Johnson, which spent $2.3 million and Abbott, which spent $1.4 million.