Slotkin Continues Push for Lower Drug Costs With New Legislation

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 -- Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Michigan, issued the following news release on Aug. 3, 2023:

U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (MI-07) has joined House Democrats as a co-sponsor of the Lowering Drug Costs for American Families Act, which expands Medicare price negotiation and other consumer price protections to lower costs for Michigan families on private insurance.

Signed into law last year, the landmark Inflation Reduction Act granted Medicare the ability to negotiate prices of prescription drugs with pharmaceutical manufacturers and use its buying power to secure the best deal, along with other cost-lowering provisions like penalties for companies that raise the price of drugs faster than inflation.

The Lowering Drug Costs for American Families Act builds upon that foundation to continue lowering the staggeringly high costs of prescription drugs in the United States by, among other things, extending price negotiation to Americans with private insurance.

A section-by-section is available HERE (https://democrats-energycommerce.house.gov/sites/democrats.energycommerce.house.gov/files/section_by_section_lowering_drug_costs_for_american_families_act.pdf) and bill text is available HERE (https://democrats-energycommerce.house.gov/sites/democrats.energycommerce.house.gov/files/bill_text_lowering_drug_costs_for_american_families.pdf).

"For years, the single most common issue Michiganders have raised with me has been the high cost of prescription drugs. After already taking historic action on the issue last year, this new legislation will further lower costs for working families," said Slotkin. "The Lowering Drug Costs for American Families Act takes measures to extend savings to more and more Americans. People are demanding that Congress do something on this issue and this announcement is a step in the right direction."

The Lowering Drug Costs for American Families Act would expand cost-savings by:

* extending the Inflation Reduction Act's historic drug price negotiation program to Americans with private coverage, including 164 million workers and their families who get health coverage through their jobs and more than 16 million individuals with Marketplace coverage;

* stopping drug companies from raising prices faster than inflation by ensuring that the inflation rebates enacted under the Inflation Reduction Act also apply to individuals covered by private health plans; and

* strengthening the drug price negotiation program to deliver more savings to the American people by increasing the annual number of prescription drugs selected for negotiation from 20 to 50.

This latest legislation comes after Slotkin hosted U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra in Michigan's 7th District for multiple events focused on pharmaceutical shortages, maternal health disparities, and efforts to lower prescription drug prices.

Also last month, Slotkin unveiled the Increasing Prescription Drug Competition Act, which would prevent pharmaceutical companies from abusing the current patent process to maximize profits. She also previously sponsored legislation to expand the supply of critical drugs during shortages and urge the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) to do everything in its power to mitigate the dire shortage of cancer drugs that has reached crisis levels in recent months.

Slotkin has been a longtime advocate for strengthening supply chains for critical pharmaceuticals. She co-founded the Domestic Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Caucus, a working group in Congress focused on restoring America's drug manufacturing industry in order to head off potential supply chain disruptions.

In December 2022, her Strengthening America's Strategic National Stockpile Act, which would make improvements to America's Strategic National Stockpile of medical supplies, was passed by Congress and signed into law.

Slotkin's Real Time Benefits Act, signed into law by President Trump, went into effect earlier this year and enables people to compare drug prices at the doctor's office or in their own home so they can be sure they are getting the best deal at the pharmacy counter.

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Original text here: https://slotkin.house.gov/media/press-releases/slotkin-continues-push-lower-drug-costs-new-legislation