According to a 2016 Reuters report, prices for four of the nation’s top 10 drugs increased more than 100 percent since 2011; A recent study showed that one out of four Americans whose prescription drug costs went up said they were unable to pay their medical bills  

Klobuchar took to the Senate floor to share stories about the effect of the burdensome cost of prescription drugs on families across Minnesota and to highlight her commonsense solutions to provide real relief to American consumers; Klobuchar has led recent efforts to investigate Mylan Pharmaceuticals for the nearly 500 percent price increase of the life-saving EpiPen

 

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar has called for the Senate to act to protect Americans from the alarmingly high cost of prescription drugs. According to a 2016 Reuters report, prices for four of the nation’s top 10 drugs increased more than 100 percent since 2011. A recent study showed that one out of four Americans whose prescription drug costs went up said they were unable to pay their medical bills. Klobuchar took to the Senate floor to share stories about the effect of the burdensome cost of prescription drugs on families across Minnesota and to highlight her commonsense solutions to provide real relief to American consumers. Klobuchar has led recent efforts to investigate Mylan Pharmaceuticals for the nearly 500 percent price increase of the life-saving EpiPen.

Now is the time to support policies that will make a real difference in the lives of Minnesotans and families across the country. Making prescription drugs more affordable will improve people’s lives – and in some cases, even save them,” Klobuchar said. “No family should be forced to decide between buying food and filling a prescription, or paying the mortgage and taking a drug as prescribed. It’s time to pass legislation and ensure Americans have access to the drugs they need at prices they can afford.”

Klobuchar has championed efforts to address the high cost of prescription drugs, authoring multiple pieces of legislation that would protect American consumers. She has introduced the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act of 2015, that would empower Medicare to negotiate for the best possible price of prescription medication. Current law only allows for bargaining by pharmaceutical companies and bans Medicare from doing so. She has also introduced the Safe and Affordable Drugs from Canada Act with Senator John McCain (R-AZ) that would require the Food and Drug Administration to establish a personal importation program that would allow individuals to import a 90-day supply of prescription drugs from an approved Canadian pharmacy. The Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act would expand consumers’ access to the cost-saving generic drugs they need and increase competition between drug manufacturers and choices for consumers by helping to put an end to “pay for delay” deals—the practice of brand-name drug manufacturers using anti-competitive pay-off agreements to keep more affordable generic equivalents off the market. She also joined with Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Mike Lee (R-UT) to introduce the Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples (CREATES) Act to deter pharmaceutical companies from blocking cheaper generic alternatives from entering the marketplace.


For a broadcast-quality video excerpt of Klobuchar’s remarks, click here.

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