Mr.
President, if news reports are correct, the majority party has a partisan so-called
“drug pricing” bill. The parliamentarian is currently reviewing that proposed
legislation.
If
the majority party passes its partisan bill it will be bad policy for patients and
taxpayers.
The
Senate Democrats’ bill will:
-Put
taxpayers at risk for more spending.
-Fail
to enact any bipartisan accountability for Big Pharma and powerful middlemen, called
pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). Yes, a bipartisan bill limiting
pharmaceutical increases is possible.
-Finally,
their bill has been developed in secret with no mark-up or open debate.
Mr.
President, this partisan bill and process is a far cry from bipartisan drug
pricing ideas I’ve developed the past few years.
In
the past 12 months alone, I’ve passed five bipartisan drug pricing bills out of
committee that will:
The
Senate should act today on my bipartisan bill to lower drug prices.
1.It
lowers costs for seniors by $72 billion and saves taxpayers $95 billion.
2.It
establishes an out-of-pocket cap, eliminates the donut hole and redesigns
Medicare Part D.
This
will hold Big Pharma and powerful middlemen accountable.
Too
often, cheaper alternatives like generics are available, but Big Pharma and
middlemen have an incentive to push the patient to the higher-cost drug, and patients
pay the cost.
My
bill ends that incentive and is pro-consumer.
3.It
ends taxpayer subsidies to Big Pharma by capping annual price increases of
Medicare Part B and D drugs at inflation.
A
Kaiser Foundation study
found half of drugs in Medicare Part B and D increased higher than inflation over
the period of time studied.
Over
600 drugs increased 7.5 percent or more.
4.It
establishes accountability and transparency.
There
are 25 major provisions in my bill to reform how the pharmaceutical industry
operates.
Accountability
in my bill includes:
-Ending
clawbacks that drive up costs at the pharmacy counter for the patient.
-Ending
“spread pricing” in Medicaid contracts that drive up taxpayer costs.
-Requiring
sunshine on powerful middlemen through financial audits, so the public knows
the true net cost of a drug.
-Requiring
sunshine on excessive drug price increases and sunshine on the launch price of
new high-cost drugs.
Big
Pharma and powerful middlemen benefit from the current system, while patients
and taxpayers suffer.
My
bill’s bipartisan reforms will change that.
5.Finally,
my bill is bipartisan.
Eleven
Republicans supported this bill in the Finance Committee mark-up
or cosponsored
the bill.
But
don’t take my word for it. Take it from my Democrat colleagues.
A
few months ago, the senior senator from Delaware said, “Senator Grassley, did I
thought a masterful job in drafting a bill with broad bipartisan support.”
The
chairman of the Finance Committee and senior senator from Oregon said, “[Big
Pharma was] relentless in fighting what Senator Grassley is talking about and
has been for two years.”
My
bill will save seniors money, save taxpayers money, hold Big Pharma and powerful
middlemen accountable and enact necessary reforms and sunshine. Plus it has
bipartisan support.
Mr.
President, we can lower drug prices without having to resort to this partisan
reconciliation process.
The
Grassley Prescription Drug Pricing
Reduction Act is the solution. It is the product of a bipartisan,
transparent process!
Compare
that to the secret, Democrat reconciliation process.
