FOX 21

By Pat Brink

DULUTH, Minn. — Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar was one of the Senators pushing the bill which allows the government to negotiate with drug companies on the prices the 50 million Medicare patients in the U.S. will pay.

Ten drugs, which are all heavily advertised are the first of what will be many prescription drugs that are likely to see their price come down in the next few years. This is what Klobuchar says she has been fighting for since she was elected to the Senate

“This announcement couldn’t come too soon. So here’s the status the cost of prescription drugs is simply too high,” said Klobuchar. “What good are treatments and cures if they are unused because people can’t afford them?  So example, prescription drug prices in the United States are more than 250 percent higher than in other industrialized countries”

Klobuchar says that more than 210 thousand seniors in Minnesota take one or more of the drugs on the list of ten. She also said the annual out-of-pocket cost for seniors on Medicare can range from $415 to $6,300 dollars.