Political Quotes

“Madam President, a new study showed that from the years 2007 to 2018, prices for, actually, hundreds of drugs rose many times-- many times faster than the rate of inflation. List prices on 602 medicines rose by 159 percent. That would average out to 9 percent annually. After discounts and rebates, net prices increased by 60 percent or 4.5 percent annually. That is 3.5 times the rate of inflation. These are drugs for multiple sclerosis, cholesterol, rheumatoid arthritis, chemotherapy, diabetes, and many other debilitating and life-threatening conditions. Put into real terms, these price increases mean that if one of these drugs cost $100 a month in 2007, that same drug would cost $259 in 2018. Meanwhile, you have to consider the working American. Wages for the average American over the same time period increased about 30 percent in the private sector. That means wage growth is about half the rate of the growth of prescription drug prices, even after the rebates and even after the discounts. For many, increased drug costs are wiping out progress that these workers are making in their wages. Some families are even going backward financially after paying for their prescriptions. This doesn't take into account at all the many other increases in the cost of living from college to housing, to insurance. Now, we Americans are surely fortunate, aren't we, to see the significant wage growth that we have had in this country for our workers under President Trump--great progress.…”