Rep. Kaptur Launches Cabinet-Level Review of Skyrocketing Prescription Drug Prices
WASHINGTON, D.C.— This afternoon Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) proposed an amendment that was accepted by the Republican majority on a bipartisan basis as part of the Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education Appropriations Bill. The amendment directs the HHS Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to report to Congress within 120 days of the bill’s enactment with an analysis of prescription drug price increases to “review how the Federal Government has achieved competitive cost reductions for drugs since 2001.”
Once completed, the analysis will be used to identify possible cost savings available through the expansion of collective bidding and bulk price negotiation. Rep. Kaptur’s amendment was one of three proposed by Democrats and accepted by Republicans, out of a total of approximately 30 total amendments proposed by Democrats on the HouseAppropriations committee.
“Prescription drug prices in the U.S. are out of control,” said Rep. Kaptur. “Again and again I hear from constituents telling me their medication has gone from affordable to unmanageable. One constituent reported insulin medication going from $20 to $247 in just one month. Another described a jump in monthly expenses for basic medication from $2 to $40 ‘too much money for us to afford’. In many cases these people depend on regular medication to stay healthy, and somehave no choice but to pay whatever cost. These sudden price jumps create real hardship for seniors, veterans, and our most vulnerable, while costing taxpayers, Medicare, Medicaid and the VA billions of dollars every year.
“My amendment takes the first step to addressing these harmful price jumps. Only when we understand this problem will we be able to do something about it. We have a responsibility to ensure that every day Americans are charged a fair price for the medication they need to stay healthy.”
Rep. Kaptur’s amendment focuses on price analysis for the 10 most frequently prescribed drugs and the 10 highest-cost drugs under Medicare parts B and D, Medicare, and the VA, and compares them to prices in Canada, Mexico, and other countries when appropriate. Important widely-prescribed drugs, including Humulin RU-500 to treat diabetes and EpiPen for allergic reactions, have increased in price by 200 to 300 percent from 2007 to 2014. According to the New York Times, “the prices of some generic drugs have soared more than 1,000 percent” in one year. Meanwhile pharmaceutical companies enjoy some of the widest profit margins of any industry in the world, comparable to banks and several times the profit margins of the world’s automakers.
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