Heidi Alexander: “I thank the Senator from West Virginia for working to reduce the cost of prescription drugs. That is the question I hear…”

“I thank the Senator from West Virginia for working to reduce the cost of prescription drugs. That is the question I hear most often in Tennessee: How can I reduce what I pay for out of my own pocket for healthcare costs? The most obvious way to reduce what you pay out of your own pocket for healthcare costs is to reduce the cost of prescription drugs. Shirley, from Franklin, TN, is one of those Americans who asked me that question. This is what she said: As a 71 year old senior with arthritis, I rely on Enbrel to keep my symptoms in check. My copay has just been increased from $95.00 to $170.00 every ninety days. At this rate I will have to begin limiting my usage in order to balance the monthly budget. There has never been a more exciting time in biomedical research, but that progress is meaningless if patients can't afford these new lifesaving drugs. Last month, as Senator Capito mentioned, our Senate Health Committee passed legislation by a vote of 20 to 3 that included 14 bipartisan provisions to increase prescription drug competition as a way of lowering generic drug costs and biosimilar drugs that reach patients. Here is what that includes: The CREATES Act--the Senator from Iowa, Mr. Grassley, is on the floor. He, Senator Leahy, and many others have proposed the CREATES Act, which will help bring more lower cost generic drugs to patients by eliminating anticompetitive practices by brand drugmakers. That is in the bill we approved.…”