Today, President Biden is attending an event in Seattle to discuss the importance of giving Medicare the power to negotiate prescription drug prices. Recent coverage and opinion pieces confirm that the American people are counting on Congress to pass legislation to drive down prescription drug prices. Giving Medicare the power to negotiate is overwhelmingly popular among voters, as it would drive down prices at the pharmacy counter and deliver long overdue relief to working families.
“President Biden is making clear that Democrats will deliver lower prescription drug prices,” said Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse. “Americans are sick and tired of choosing between paying the bills and affording the medications they need to survive. Congress must work quickly to meet the demands of American families and finally give Medicare the power to negotiate for lower drug prices. The President’s commitment to delivering lower costs for the American people is unwavering, and today’s event makes clear he won’t rest until he gets this done.”
RECENT HEADLINES
HuffPost: This Piece Of ‘Build Back Better’ Is Still A Political No Brainer. “Under the terms of the deal, Medicare would finally have some power to negotiate drug prices with manufacturers. There would also be “inflation caps” ― financial penalties on manufacturers that raise prices substantially from year to year. People with insurance would pay no more than $35 a month for insulin, and Medicare beneficiaries would finally have a hard limit ($2,000) on their out-of-pocket drug costs.” [HuffPost, 4/20/22]
The Hill: Opinion: Congress Must Pass Comprehensive Drug Pricing Reforms That Include Medicare Negotiation. “Right now, the Senate could follow the House of Representatives’ lead and pass the comprehensive reforms to deliver relief to all Americans with high drug prices. These historic reforms already have the necessary support to pass in the Senate – a clear path through reconciliation. But the Senate is dragging its feet on reconciliation, instead focusing on passing just one component of the broad package: capping monthly insulin copays. Meanwhile, Rep. Wild and her colleagues in the House have now passed the insulin provision twice — once in the comprehensive package last Fall and again last week as standalone legislation.” [The Hill, 4/8/22]
(AZ) AZ Mirror: Covid-19 Is Causing More Type 1 Diabetes In Kids, Who Will Be Saddled With High Insulin Prices — Unless Congress Acts. ”In America, around 1 in 4 diabetics have rationed their insulin due to high costs. With nearly 60% of Americans under 17 having been infected with COVID-19, some of them may develop type 1 diabetes. It is more important than ever to do something about insulin prices. By lowering the price of insulin and passing other federal prescription drug reforms, we can help existing diabetics and prevent newly diagnosed diabetics, especially kids, from being forced to ration life-saving medication.” [AZ Mirror, 4/11/22]
(KS) Kansas City Star: Kansas Seniors Like Me Have To Choose: My Medication Or My Mortgage? There Is A Fix. “I had eagerly anticipated the day I’d qualify for Medicare, believing I’d finally be able to afford my prescriptions. But to my surprise, the out-of-pocket cost of my medication was $3,000 a month. The price left me with few options: Skip my medication, seek donations or sacrifice my entire net worth to purchase the prescription. These should not be the only options in the American health care system. But President Joe Biden does have a solution that more than 80% of Americans agree with: Allow Medicare to negotiate drug costs and cap out-of-pocket spending on prescriptions at $2,000 a year. This would change my life. I wouldn’t have to choose between my mortgage or my medication.“ [Kansas City Star, 4/20/22]
(NV) Las Vegas Sun: Why I Turn To Mexico To Buy My Medications. “President Joe Biden has proposed an economic agenda that would allow Medicare to negotiate the cost of prescription drugs, limit the ability of drug companies to hike prices on life-sustaining medications, and cap insulin copays at $35 per month. The House has passed the Affordable Insulin Now Act but the Senate has not. We can’t let this issue fall by the wayside. These reforms would make my daily life much less stressful. Do you know what it is like to get up and spend an extra $1,500 a month just to stay alive? I often think of all the things I could have invested in to better my life if not for the financial weight of drug costs holding me down. If my costs are reduced, I can finally begin to spend my money on other things I’ve been dreaming of, like a mortgage for my own house.” [Las Vegas Sun, 4/17/22]
(NV) Nevada Current: Senate Dems Turn To Prescription Drug Reform Bill, But Will Need GOP Support. “U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is optimistic the Senate could soon hear legislation on capping insulin costs and reigning in prescription drug prices, she said in Las Vegas Monday…’We should all be working to do it together,’ Cortez Masto said. ‘Nobody should be saying, ‘this doesn’t make sense.’ We all know this needs to be done. I don’t care if you’re a Republican or Democrat or independent. The focus is on lowering the costs for families and we should be doing it.’” [Nevada Current, 4/19/22]
(PA) The Morning Call: Your View By Monroe County Kidney Donor: Give Medicare Power To Negotiate Prescription Drug Prices. “Prescription drugs don’t work if people can’t afford them. As someone who is affected by the shockingly high cost of prescription drugs that is only getting higher, I’m grateful to see Congresswoman Susan Wild speaking out about this issue… Even since Rep. Wild wrote her letter in January, the prices of hundreds of medications have gone up. Drug companies have already raised prices on 804 drugs this year alone.” [The Morning Call, 3/22/22]
(WI) Wisconsin Examiner: Cutting Prescription Drug Costs Still Priority In US Senate, Baldwin Says. “[Sen. Tammy Baldwin] said she hopes that another provision she has advocated, allowing the federal Medicare program to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical manufacturers, can be revived this year as well… American patients pay two, three or four times what residents of other wealthy countries pay for medicine. Medicare negotiation would produce savings for taxpayers as well as patients, Baldwin said.” [Wisconsin Examiner, 3/28/22]