Jim Costa: “I also rise to support the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act. Americans want Congress to tackle issues that…”

“I also rise to support the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act. Americans want Congress to tackle issues that they care most about, and spiraling drug costs is one of the most important issues. Passing H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, will help lower prescription drug prices and hold drug companies accountable for unfair price hikes. Prescription drugs in the United States we all know are four times higher than what they charge for the same drugs in many other countries. The soaring cost of insulin is one example of the way we see gouging, quadrupling over the last decade. {time} 1100 Diabetes is an epidemic in our country, affecting over 30 million people in the United States and costing Americans more than $100 billion a year to manage. In Fresno County, one of the counties I represent in my district in the San Joaquin Valley, it is estimated 68 percent of the adults between the ages of 55 and 69 have diabetes. These Americans need insulin to manage their condition, but these high prices are causing them impossible choices. The question is: Do they pay for medication or do they put food on their dinner table, making sacrifices that are simply unacceptable? Democrats are committed to putting the healthcare of American people first and stopping this unfair practice. So far this year, we have sent multiple bills to the Senate to reduce healthcare and prescription drug costs. Silence.…”