Representative Angie Craig Highlights Constituent Story in Push to Lower Prescription Drug Costs

WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday, during a House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee hearing on lowering the cost of prescription drugs, U.S. Representative Angie Craig highlighted the story of Bob Miller, a constituent from Prior Lake, MN whose multiple sclerosis medication skyrocketed in price by nearly $100,000 annually. At the hearing, the subcommittee considered the impact of H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, which would save Minnesota families tens of thousands of dollars in prescription drug costs.

"Bob Miller is a constituent of mine living with MS. Over the course of 12 years, the list price of his medication rose from $13,000 a year to over $103,000," said Representative Craig. "While on his employer's coverage, Bob was able to get copay assistance to make the drug affordable for him, but under Medicare he is now ineligible for that same type of assistance. Faced with the reality that the cost of his drug would jeopardize his retirement security – Bob opted to stop taking the drug. He understood that he was rolling the dice on his health and he wants Congress to act so that no one else must make this life-threatening decision."

The Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act is estimated to reduce direct federal spending by $456 billion over ten years according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The bill would lower the cost of prescription drugs for the American people by:

• Empowering the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate lower drug prices directly with drug companies on high-priced drugs in Medicare that lack competition;
• Ensuring the lower negotiated prices are available to all Americans with private insurance, not just Medicare beneficiaries, including workers who get health coverage through an employer;
• Stopping drug companies from ripping off Americans by limiting the maximum price for any negotiated drug to be no more than 120 percent of the average price in other countries with similar economies to the United States, where drug companies charge less for the same drugs – and admit they still make a profit;
• Preventing drug companies from increasing drug prices beyond the rate of inflation for thousands of drugs in Medicare Part B and Part D;
• Creating a new, $2,000 out-of-pocket limit on Part D prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries and realigns the incentives in Medicare Part D to hold down drug costs;
• Increasing transparency for consumers by requiring drug companies who increase their prices to publicly report data related to drug price increases; and
• Investing $10 billion toward accelerating the search for the next big scientific breakthrough at the National Institutes of Health, $2 billion towards enhancing drug development, review, and safety activities at the Food and Drug Administration, and $10 billion towards combating the opioid crisis.

You can watch Representative Craig's remarks during the subcommittee hearing here.