September 04,2019
Grassley, Daines Op-ed: Tick Tock. It's Time to Stop Rx Sticker Shock
Sens. Chuck Grassley and
Steve Daines
As
United States Senators representing the Big Sky state and Hawkeye country,
older Montanans and Iowans keep a watchful eye on spending. Like millions of
Americans across the country, they are mindful that they need to stretch their
savings in order to pay the bills and uphold their quality of life in
retirement.
Whenever
we hear from folks in Iowa or Montana, we hear widespread concern about the
rising costs of prescription drugs. It's particularly upsetting to find out
some patients ration or skip doses of daily medication because they can't
afford the out-of-pocket costs.
This
issue has struck a chord with people all over our great nation. It's time to
enact reforms to restore the gravitational forces of the free marketplace. Year
after year, escalating prices for prescription medicine are reaching sky-high,
hitting seniors and taxpayers squarely in their pocketbooks. Consumers are left
scratching their heads when lifesaving medicines, such as insulin, have been on
the market for decades yet prices continue to soar.
Bound
by a common goal, Lewis and Clark led an arduous journey at the turn of the
19th century across 16 states, including Iowa and Montana, to reach the Pacific
Ocean. They laid the groundwork for American westward expansion. We've hit the
trail this past month, across Iowa and Montana, to meet with constituents and
lay the groundwork and build momentum to reduce drug prices.
The
Trump administration issued a roadmap last summer to bring down drug prices. It
painted a giant bulls-eye on exorbitant prescription drug costs with its
blueprint of reforms. It has served as a key catalyst in Congress to turn the
conversation into a serious movement. With President Trump anchoring the
effort, we have the wind at our sails and our oars in the water to stop the
pricing shenanigans that put taxpayers and consumers on the hook.
We've
rolled up our sleeves on the Senate Finance Committee to identify what's not
working to help fix what's broken. Let's be clear: America's free market system
has nurtured the blockbuster drugs and medical innovations that have cured
previously "incurable" diseases and improved the quality of life for
seniors managing chronic health conditions. We understand Americans do not want
to sacrifice quality and innovation. That's why we are working to make changes
that will help improve competition and get more bang for the buck.
After
months of hard work in Washington, we've learned the complex drug pricing
system and misguided payment incentives are allowing Big Pharma and pharmacy
benefit managers to take advantage of secrecy baked into the pricing supply
chain. Additional anti-competitive business arrangements present a take it or
leave it choice for consumers, insurers and independent pharmacies.
It
flies in the face of our consumer-driven economy. Americans drive a hard
bargain when they purchase goods and services, from homes, to cars and even
cereal. Since the earliest days of the republic, the competitive free
marketplace helps drive down costs and drive up innovation and better values
for consumers. That's the American way.
One
glaring exception is prescription drugs. The pharmaceutical drug supply chain
needs a strong dose of transparency to restore accountability. Sunshine is
always the best prescription to weed out wrongdoing, waste, fraud and abuse.
That's why we are working to boost market-driven reforms to help reduce drug
prices.
According
to the U.S. Census 2018 population estimates, Iowa (17.1 percent) and Montana
(18.7 percent) rank high for the percentage of citizens age 65 and older. It's
important to these older Americans and their loved ones that Medicare and
Medicaid work as effectively and efficiently as possible. In July, we advanced
bipartisan reforms to help drive down prescription drug costs for seniors and
taxpayers. Every year these public health programs expend tens of millions of
tax dollars just on prescription medicine.
The
bipartisan package of reforms we steered through the Senate Finance Committee
would save taxpayers more than $100 billion and reform anti-competitive
practices that have allowed drug pricing to get out of whack for consumers and
shouldered to a large extent on the backs of taxpayers. Another key improvement
in our bill would limit out-of-pocket costs for Medicare and Medicaid patients.
Our bipartisan bill, which would save $20 billion in out of pocket costs,
increases financial security for our seniors so they can afford the
prescription drugs they need.
Our
bipartisan updates would reform payment incentives and ensure Big Pharma,
hospitals and pharmacy benefit managers have more skin in the game. For too
long, they have been allowed to game the system. As families gear up for back
to school, we are gearing up to send our bipartisan Drug Pricing Reduction Act
to the President's desk this fall. It's time to put an end to sticker shock and
bring meaningful price transparency to the prescription drug market. It's time
to deliver real savings to Americans at the pharmacy counter.
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