Shaheen Welcomes Bipartisan Legislation to Lower Cost of Prescription Drugs Clearing Key Committee Hurdle
(Washington, DC)—U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) issued the following statement after the Senate Finance Committee cleared critical bipartisan legislation to lower skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs.
“Granite Staters want to see Democrats and Republicans working together to address the skyrocketing costs of prescription medication -- I’m relieved that this bipartisan effort is moving forward,” said Shaheen. “This bill addresses a number of critical areas in our broader effort to lower costs, which includes capping drug price increases and out-of-pocket prescription costs for Medicare enrollees. Ultimately, this legislation will help restrict annual increases in drug prices and hold manufacturers accountable to keep prices down. I hope we can pass this legislation on the Senate floor soon and consider other legislation that would bring down costs. As this debate continues, I will be urging Congress to also approve legislation that directly tackles the surging cost of insulin that is forcing many Americans with diabetes to choose between the treatment they need to live and paying for groceries and other expenses.”
On Monday, Shaheen introduced new bipartisan legislation to rollback over a decade of insulin price hikes. Senator Shaheen is leading efforts in the Senate to reduce the cost of prescription drugs. Last month, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) cleared package legislation that included her bipartisan bill to lower prescription drug prices by increasing competition through improved oversight of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) citizen petition process. She introduced the Biologic Transparency Act of 2019, bipartisan legislation to encourage competition in the prescription drug marketplace and put an end to the harmful patent strategies that block new drugs from coming to market. She also introduced the End Taxpayer Subsidies for Drugs Ads Act of 2019 to eliminate tax deductions that pharmaceutical companies use to pay for drug advertising, which ultimately allows companies to increase their drug prices. Shaheen’s bill would ensure taxpayer dollars are not used to subsidize drug advertisements.
