Prescription Drug Pricing, A National Crisis

• The soaring cost of prescription drugs has become a national crisis. While prescription drug prices have been volatile since the turn of the century, prescription drug spending growth has been accelerating well above inflation and is projected to increase faster than other areas of medical spending over the next decade.
• Today, U.S. drug prices are nearly four times higher than average prices compared to similar countries.

-People are commonly weighing whether they should fill their necessary prescription, pay their rent or feed their families. No one should have to skip treatment because they do not have the financial resources. This does not represent our values as a country. 

-We need a multi-pronged approach to lower drug prices. House Democrats have introduced legislation that will help lower prescription drug prices and hold drug companies accountable: H.R. 3, the Lower Drug Costs Now Act. This legislation will now advance to committee consideration for a chance to make improvements in the legislation, to hear from people as to their views as to how this best can be done.

-Core principles of the Democrat’s strategy to combat scoring prescription drug cost include the following:

o Power to negotiate – The authority, mandate, and tools for the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to annually negotiate better prices for all American consumers (not just Medicare beneficiaries) on certain high-cost drugs that lack competition.

o Inflation rebate – The requirement that manufacturers who increase prices in Medicare faster than inflation to pay back that excess charge to Medicare.

o Out-of-pocket limit – A cap on out-of-pocket costs for Part D beneficiaries for the first time at $2,000 each year, down from $5,100 under current law with additional cost sharing after that.

• It is unconscionable that people are obliged to question whether to take a drug that could possibly save their lives, simply because they cannot afford to pay for it.

I am committed to transforming the pharmaceutical system based on what’s best for people, not for corporate profits. My Democrat colleagues in the House, from the Speaker down, are likewise committed to making prescription drugs more affordable to ensure patients have access to life-saving treatments.