Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. We already have hundreds of drugs in the market that millions of Americans do not have access to and cannot get because they are not affordable. Seniors in my district are walking out of the pharmacy without their medication after seeing the out-of-pocket costs and saying to themselves they can't afford it. Many seniors are choosing between eating and buying their groceries versus taking their medications. They are not taking the medicine that they need, which puts their health and their lives at risk. I have heard from seniors in my district who face up to $6,000 a month in out-of-pocket costs for their medicine. To quote one constituent of mine: ``Prescription and healthcare costs are an astronomical burden.'' To quote another: ``Necessary medication should not be treated as a luxury.'' We must bring down the outrageous out-of-pocket costs plaguing our seniors and families. H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lowering Drug Costs Now Act, finally answers the call to bring down out-of-control costs. {time} 1900 It does so by empowering Medicare, for the first time ever, to negotiate lower drug prices with Big Pharma, which will lower costs for not only seniors, but also American families with private health insurance. It does so by limiting out-of-pocket costs to no more than $2,000 a year for seniors--very important to seniors needing expensive medication.…”