We Need Bold, Bipartisan Action to Lower Prescription Drug Prices

If you’ve gone to a pharmacy recently to pick up medication for yourself or a loved one, you know that listed prescription drug prices are often extremely high – sometimes prohibitively so. As we debate ways to make health care more affordable for all Americans, we must also address the evolving crisis in prescription drug prices.

High prescription drug costs are putting a strain on patients and our health. One in four Americans report financial hardship paying for their medications, and many of them are on Medicare. That simply shouldn’t be the case.

The good news is that political will to address the problem is greater than ever before and there is a significant new opportunity for bipartisan cooperation.

One of the most effective ways to bring down the soaring cost of prescription drugs is to remove barriers that prevent generic alternatives to expensive prescription drugs from coming to market. According to one study, the average price of a prescription drug decreased by 50% within the first year of a generic product’s entrance into the market, and decreased by 80% within five years.

By facilitating greater competition from generic products, we can create substantial savings for our health care system and, most importantly, reduce costs for Americans who need prescription drugs.

House democrats have already passed a package of five bills to confront pharmaceutical companies’ unfair practices that keep drug prices high and prevent lower-cost generic versions of drugs from being developed. Notably, the legislation would put an end to the loophole that allows brand-name drug manufacturers to pay producers of generic drugs to delay the sale of these lower-cost versions, an anticompetitive practice that hurts consumers.

It would also make it harder for companies to prevent other manufacturers from selling their generic form of a drug and make it easier for generic producers to obtain samples of brand-name drugs for testing and development. This vital bill package was sent to the Senate in May, where it is still awaiting a vote.

But increasing competition in the pharmaceutical marketplace is not the only way to reduce prescription drug prices. We should allow the reimportation of prescription drugs from other countries where the same medicine is far cheaper so that Americans are not forced to subsidize drug prices in the rest of the world. And we should permit Medicare to use the collective bargaining power of its millions of participants to lower costs.

Over 60 million seniors and people with long-term disabilities are enrolled in Medicare. Prescription drugs are an important component of the health care provided to Medicare beneficiaries, and a costly component at that — Medicare accounts for 30% of national retail spending on prescription drugs and nearly one out of every five dollars in total Medicare spending goes towards prescription drugs. Currently, the Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) is prohibited from directly negotiating lower drug prices for Medicare. However, another federal agency, the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, can negotiate and receives a major discount as a result.

That is why I am proud to cosponsor the Medicare Negotiation and Competitive Licensing Act, which allows HHS to negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies. This is a common sense bill that simply allows the federal government to negotiate the best price for consumers and the government.

Congress can find workable solutions to address rising pharmaceutical costs and make prescription drugs more affordable for all Americans. This administration and members of Congress must work together to allow Medicare to negotiate for lower prices, stop price gouging, increase transparency in pricing and curb corporate efforts to delay or block generic competition.

I’ve long held that access to life-saving prescription drugs should never be cost-prohibitive and never be a barrier to care. No American should be forced to choose between paying the bills and paying for their prescription medication. And no American should suffer because they forgo critical medication that they cannot afford. We need bold action – now.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) represents California’s 28th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

  ADAM SCHIFF