A familiar name to local politics was vocal on Capital Hill.
Late last night, the House Committee on Ways and Means passed the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, legislation that would lower prescription drug prices. Last week, the Committee held a hearing on the legislation, where Rep. Ron Kind urged his colleagues to support the legislation that would allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, which is a main pillar in a bigger plan for his Drug Pricing Action Plan.
“Right now, ninety percent of seniors and about half of all Americans take a prescription drug, and folks in Wisconsin often pay more than people in other countries for the exact same drug. This legislation will finally level the playing field for working families who currently have to choose between paying for food and rent or the prescription drugs they need to survive,” said Rep. Ron Kind. “Now, we are one step closer to bringing much-needed relief to thousands of Wisconsinites and millions of Americans.”
The Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act:
- Gives Medicare the power to negotiate directly with the drug companies and creates powerful new tools to force drug companies to the table to agree to real price reductions, while ensuring seniors never lose access to the prescriptions they need.
- Makes the lower drug prices negotiated by Medicare available to Americans with private insurance, not just Medicare beneficiaries.
- Limits the maximum price for any negotiated drug to be in line with the average price in countries like ours, where drug companies charge less for the same drugs.
- Creates a new, $2,000 out-of-pocket limit on prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries, and reverses years of unfair price hikes above inflation across thousands of drugs in Medicare.
TO WATCH A VIDEO OF REP. RON KIND DEBATING PRICE NEGOTIATION CLICK HERE
