Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to H.R. 485, the so- called Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act of 2023. This legislation harms the very people it says it protects, increases prescription drug costs, and decimates funding for essential public health programs. Last Congress, Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act, landmark legislation that gives the Secretary of Health and Human Services the power to negotiate drug prices for Medicare. This critical step is estimated to lower drug prices by at least 25 percent, saving seniors and taxpayers tens of billions of dollars and ensuring that people with Medicare get better, fairer prices for prescription drugs. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that this provision in the IRA alone will save the government $100 billion over the next 10 years. In contrast, the CBO estimates that the bill before us today would not only increase drug prices across Federal health programs, but it would also increase Federal spending by $1.1 billion over the next 10 years by eliminating important tools to manage drug prices. Without effective tools to determine the value of a drug, the government is at a disadvantage, and the taxpayers pay the higher price. We know that 8 in 10 adults in the United States today say that the cost of prescription drugs is too high, and we know that 3 in 10 say that they don't take all of their prescriptions as prescribed because they can't afford them. It is simply unacceptable.…”