Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) introduced the Empowering Medicare Seniors to Negotiate Drug Prices Act, which would allow the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to negotiate drug prices under the Medicare prescription drug benefit.
“Skyrocketing prescription drug costs are restricting Nevada’s seniors from accessing and affording their medicine. This legislation allows the largest purchaser of prescription medications, Medicare, to negotiate drug prices and to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for the rising prices of prescription drugs. Congress must work together in a bipartisan way to ensure that seniors in Nevada, and across the country, can afford the medications they need.”
BACKGROUND:
The Empowering Medicare Seniors to Negotiate Drug Prices Act would allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to directly negotiate with drug companies for price discounts for the Medicare Prescription Drug Program, eliminating the “non-interference” clause that expressly bans Medicare from negotiating for better prices. By harnessing the bargaining power of nearly 43 million seniors, Medicare could negotiate bigger discounts than pharmaceutical companies.
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