New common sense bill to lower drug costs

The cost of prescription drugs is the issue I hear about most from folks in our district, so I want to talk to you about a new piece of legislation I introduced this week to bring down the price of your prescriptions: the Make Medicine Affordable Act.

The bill puts together some of the most common-sense ways to drive down costs at the pharmacy counter by:

• Allowing Medicare to negotiate with drug companies and do what Costco does – buy in bulk to get a lower price;
• Capping total costs for seniors at $2,000 per month;
• Capping the cost of insulin, which 800,000 Michiganders depend on, at $35 per month; and
• Disincentivizing drug companies from unfairly raising prices faster than the rate of inflation

I’ll be honest, the leadership of my party and the powerful committee chairs in Congress are not happy about this, but I don’t work for them. I work for the people of Michigan’s 8th District, and I know they need relief at the pharmacy counter fast. We need to forge ahead on prescription drug costs, and this slimmer package of common-sense solutions has the best chance of making it through the Senate.

I’ve long been an advocate for prescription drug reform to lower costs. In 2020, President Trump signed into law my Real Time Benefits Act, a bill that will improve transparency and help patients save money by letting  you compare prices for different drug brands and at different pharmacies before a prescription is written to pick up.

Passing smart prescription drug reform will have a huge impact on the daily lives of millions of people in Michigan, and it would help save them thousands of dollars each year.

– Rep. Elissa Slotkin