Prescription Drug Costs

Floor Speech

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Mr. DAINES. Senator Cassidy, thank you--Dr. Cassidy. It is a really good thing to have a physician serving on the floor of the U.S. Senate and your additional insight you have as a physician. Thank you.

Madam President, I am grateful for not only Senator Cassidy's leadership but also Senator Grassley's on this very important issue impacting millions of Montanans and Americans across our country.

I also want to thank my colleagues who spoke on this issue earlier today.

When I am back home in Montana, I hear the same concerns in virtually every corner of our State. Whether I am down in southeast Montana, in places like Ekalaka or Baker; or up in northeast Montana, in places like Westby and in places like Sidney and Plentywood; and if we go out to the northwest part of our State, to places like Eureka, Libby; or in southwest Montana, where I am from, in Bozeman, Belgrade, or anywhere you go, I am hearing that Montanans are concerned with the high cost of prescription drugs. That is why I have made it one of my top priorities in Congress and on the Senate Finance Committee to lower prescription drug costs for Montanans and for folks across the country.

Year after year, prescription drug out-of-pocket costs are reaching sky-high levels. They are impacting our seniors, our veterans, our families, and our working men and women. It is truly heart-wrenching to hear the stories of folks who are rationing or even skipping doses of daily medications because they can't afford the out-of-pocket costs. The American people are struggling under the burden of these out-of- control, high costs of prescription drugs, and they need relief.

That is why I am grateful to be working with Chairman Grassley on the Finance Committee and my colleagues here today in a bipartisan fashion to lower costs, improve competition, and get our patients more bang for the buck. The complex drug pricing system has allowed Big Pharma and these pharmacy benefit managers--you may have seen the chart that Senator Cassidy just laid out showing some of these complexities. These pharmacy benefit managers are the middle men responsible for negotiating drug prices, but in doing so, they take advantage of the secrecy of the pricing supply chain.

The bipartisan reforms we are fighting for and advocating for today would help fix the secrecy and save taxpayers more than $80 billion. These reforms will cap out-of-pocket costs in Medicare, providing our seniors with enhanced financial security. One of the great sources of anxiety for our seniors is financial security. When you think about it, their financial situation could be devastated with the out-of-pocket costs for a single prescription drug.

Our efforts would reform the payment incentives and ensure that Big Pharma and the pharmacy benefit managers have more skin in this game. These reforms are the product of over 1 year of bipartisan negotiations. Although this may not be what you hear on the news, bipartisan compromise is not dead. I am pleased to see my colleagues putting politics aside and doing what is right for this country. Lowering costs is more than just figures and numbers and spreadsheets. This is about keeping our families healthy without having to worry about how much it is going to cost or if they can even afford it. This is about getting relief for the retiree who has worked and saved their entire life only to see the dollars they earned go down the drain because of the high cost of prescription drugs.

President Trump is ready to sign prescription drug reform. He is committed to getting this done on behalf of the American people. He hears it when he travels around the country. With strong support from this administration, I am confident we can achieve some major reforms for the American people. Montanans and Americans across the country want to see reform, and that is why I am standing here today, fighting for it.

Let's move past the congressional gridlock and get this done. We had a good, strong, bipartisan vote out of the Senate Finance Committee, which will allow us to take a vote here on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Truly, Republicans, Democrats, and Independents can deliver a historic victory for the American people, and I will continue working to get this bill on President Trump's desk.

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