Before we begin today’s business, it is with a heavy heart and deep sadness that I note the passing of our colleague, Elijah Cummings. His death is a loss to our institution and to our country. Chairman Cummings believed in the work of Congress on behalf all Americans. A proud, life-long resident of Baltimore, he looked beyond his hometown to best serve the American people through his leadership on the Committee of Oversight and Reform. He forged strong bipartisan relationships despite leading a committee that could easily be pulled into partisan rancor. As we carry out our duties in Congress, I hope each of us carry on his deep belief in the strength of the government comes from doing what is right for our country, today and in the future. I would ask for a moment of silence to reflect on the remarkable legacy of our beloved colleague.
And with that, we will proceed with the business that is before us today. I’d like to thank our witnesses and guests for joining us for today’s hearing on, “Investing in the U.S. Health System by Lowering Drug Prices, Reducing Out-of-Pocket Costs, and Improving Medicare Benefits." Today, we will continue our committee’s work of addressing the precipitous rise in prescription drug costs that continues to burden families across the country. In the last election, Americans made it clear that they want - and need - to see real action in Washington that will put patients first and bring down the price of prescription drugs.
Americans have been demanding action on rising prescription drug prices for years. But I remind my colleagues that for the last seven years we took almost 70 votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act. All the while we saw the price of lifesaving drugs sky-rocket.
For example, the price of Advair Diskus, a popular inhaler, rose by 136 percent from 2013 to 2017. The price of Humira saw a 100 percent increase over six years. And the price of insulin increased by 197 percent from 2002 to 2013.
As a recent Ways and Committee report details, our nation spends nearly four times more than other similar countries spend on the same prescription drugs. This is outrageous. Not only is this an unfair deal for the American people, many Americans simply cannot afford to pay these exorbitant prices for prescription drugs.
The notion that American consumers should be getting a fair deal at the pharmacy - one that allows them to afford lifesaving medicines - isn’t a radical partisan idea. In fact, this is something I believe President Trump and I may even agree on. He too has questioned why other nations should pay less, stating that, “for years and years other nations paid less for drugs than we do."
As Chairman, one of my highest priorities is addressing these rising prescription drug prices. And as I have said many times, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. This is a complicated issue that needs a thoughtful, comprehensive solution. And the Ways and Means Committee has been putting in the hard work to identify such a solution.
Early this year, we held a hearing to identify the causes of prescription drug price increases, followed by a subcommittee hearing that further examined the issue.
Patients walked us through the hardships they and their families experience due to rising prescription drug costs. Experts described the systemic failure of the market and how consumers continue to pay more and more every year without the benefit of clinically superior innovation.
Following these hearings, the Committee passed the STAR Act, a bipartisan measure designed to provide drug pricing transparency.
And today we will continue our work as we discuss H.R. 3, which will lower drug prices and reduce premiums and out-of-pocket costs, saving hundreds of billions of dollars for American families, businesses, Medicare, and taxpayers.
H.R. 3 is based on the simple notion that the Secretary of Health and Human Services should be allowed to negotiate for better prices on prescription drugs in Medicare. Among other things, the bill also caps Medicare beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs at $2,000.
The changes made by the bill will amount to American families saving $158 billion in lower premiums and out-of-pocket costs. That’s $1,920 for every American family of four.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the Medicare provisions of Title I alone will reduce Medicare spending by $345 billion over ten years.
And - I really want to highlight this - beneficiaries who decide not to fill prescriptions because of high costs would be more likely to fill prescriptions under H.R. 3. This increase in accessing medicines, CBO notes, reduces spending for other services covered under Medicare, like hospital and physician services. Good news all around.
With these savings, we have an opportunity to make necessary investments in Medicare, like adding coverage for dental, vision, and hearing services, and improving access to low-income programs to help pay for premiums and out-of-pocket costs. And of course, we will increase investments in the innovative research that the National Institutes of Health conducts every day.
I am proud of the world-renowned health care innovation that we have in the United States - particularly in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It has opened the doors to treating numerous diseases and has been instrumental to the local and regional economy. However, what is the point of innovation if no one can afford it? With H.R. 3, Americans will be able to afford the innovation that they need to lead healthier lives.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses. And with that I would like to recognize the Ranking Member Mr. Brady.
