[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 127 (Tuesday, July 20, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H3738]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                ALLOW MEDICARE TO NEGOTIATE DRUG PRICES

  (Ms. WILD asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. WILD. Mr. Speaker, we hear a lot of talk about the soaring costs 
of prescription drugs, but we seldom hear about the sad fact that 
Medicare is not allowed to negotiate prescription drug prices.
  Earlier this month, drug companies announced yet another painful 
price hike on critical medications. The soaring price of prescription 
drugs is crushing Americans at the pharmacy counter, driving up health 
insurance premiums and creating unaffordable costs for taxpayers, who 
finance Medicare. That is right. We, the people, fund Medicare. Yet, 
due to an antiquated law, Medicare has to pay drug prices without the 
right to negotiate.
  That is why, last week, I led a group of my colleagues in sending a 
letter to leadership, demanding that Medicare negotiation of drug 
prices be included in the upcoming reconciliation bill.
  This is common sense, and it is long overdue.
  According to the CBO, allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices 
would save American taxpayers $456 billion in just the first 10 years 
alone, with those savings heading right back into the pockets of 
American families. And it would bring down drug prices for all 
Americans, not just Medicare recipients. Together, we can get this 
done.

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