Thomas R. Suozzi: “I thank Chairman Neal for yielding me time. Madam Chair, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3. I think this is one of the…”

“I thank Chairman Neal for yielding me time. Madam Chair, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3. I think this is one of the most important issues facing America today. The American people are hungering for a solution to this problem. On January 11, 2017, President-elect Trump said, when referring to the pharmaceutical companies, ``these guys are getting away with murder.'' For too long, Big Pharma has cashed in because our government, the largest purchaser of prescription drugs in the world, has been prohibited from negotiating lower drug prices. Americans pay nearly four times as much for prescription drugs as people in other countries. H.R. 3 will finally give the United States Government the power to negotiate lower prices. It will stop unjustified price hikes and put a cap on Medicare part D beneficiary out-of-pocket costs. The $500 billion in cost savings will be used to create historic Medicare improvements, such as dental, vision, and hearing benefits. This bill will also provide financial support for more Medicare beneficiaries, will boost funding for scientific innovation, will invest in community health centers, and will provide more money to fight the opioid epidemic. I thank Chairman Neal for also including a provision I wrote to help protect seniors that will require Medicare prescription drug plans to publicly disclose information about when beneficiaries are denied at the pharmacy counter.…”