Senator Stabenow: Outrageous Costs of Prescription Drugs are Harming Michiganders, Senate Must Take Action to Lower Costs Now
Stabenow Highlights Price Gouging During Senate Finance Committee Hearing
Wednesday, March 16, 2022WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chair of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care, today spoke at a Finance hearing to highlight the outrageous and unjustified prices Americans are paying for prescription drugs.
Patients pay three times more for brand-name drugs in America than any other country. Diabetics in America pay four times more for their insulin than those in other nations. Because of these astounding prices, one in three adults cannot afford to take their medication as prescribed.
A video of her remarks can be found here.
“Americans pay the highest drug prices in the world and there is no excuse for this! These costs are taking an extraordinary financial and physical toll on American families, especially our seniors” said Senator Stabenow. “It doesn’t have to be this way. Democrats have a plan to help make sure Americans can afford the prescription drugs they need while preserving and strengthening health care innovation in this country.”
Senate Democrats have a plan to lower prescription drug costs for patients in Michigan and across the country. The Senate Finance Committee package would cap the price of insulin at $35 per month, allow Medicare to start negotiating lower drug prices, create a price inflation penalty for drug manufacturers, and establish a $2,000 out-of-pocket cap for seniors in Medicare Part D. The package would save $294 billion over the next decade.
In February, Senator Stabenow introduced legislation to lower the cost of insulin and save Michigan patients money. The Affordable Insulin Now Act will require insurers to cap patient out-of-pocket costs for insulin at $35 per month.
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