On the recordJuly 30, 2019
I rise to highlight the bipartisan work that is underway in the Senate to help Americans who struggle with the high cost of prescription drugs. This problem particularly affects our seniors, 90 percent of whom take at least one prescription drug. It is critical that we continue to build on the momentum of this important pocketbook issue that, I believe, bridges the partisan divide. Since 2015, as the chairman of the Senate's Special Committee on Aging, I have chaired eight hearings on drug pricing, and we have heard so many heartbreaking stories from people who struggle to afford the medication that they need. I will never forget standing in line at the pharmacy counter in Bangor, ME, where I live, when the couple ahead of me received a prescription drug and the unwelcomed news that the couple's copay was going to be $111. The husband turned to his wife and said: ``Honey, we simply cannot afford this.'' They walked away and left that needed prescription on the drug store counter. I told the pharmacist I didn't mean to overhear but that I just happened to be the next in line. I asked him how often this happens, and he gave me the terrible news that it happens every single day.…
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