Lowering drug costs for Michiganders

You may have seen U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra was in our district last week discussing important prescription drug provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act. Before that press conference, though, we had a few meetings I want to tell you about.

I invited Secretary Becerra to our 7th Congressional District because of your calls, emails and letters surrounding high prescription prices, drug shortages and maternal health disparities. It’s important for federal officials to see firsthand the issues that affect Michiganders in their daily lives.

First, we met with local hospital leaders, so Secretary Becerra could hear directly from them about the issues they’re facing.  Our first priority was the ongoing shortage of lifesaving cancer drugs that has forced our hospitals in Michigan to ration care. This crisis has shown once again that maintaining a sufficient supply of pharmaceuticals is critical for not just patients, but for our national security.  This issue of supply-chains for critical items has become a bit of an obsession of mine since shortages upended our economy during the pandemic.  It’s why I co-founded the bipartisan Domestic Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Caucus and have introduced legislation, like the Ensuring Access to Lifesaving Drugs Act, to keep vital medicines on pharmacy shelves.

In our second meeting with Secretary Becerra, we met with advocates and talked about the issue of black maternal health.  Today, Black & Native American women are three to four times more likely to die from complications surrounding pregnancy & childbirth than white women. Our meeting allowed Secretary Becerra to learn about the systemic & financial challenges faced by those who’ve been in the trenches on this issue. Thank you to the doctors, midwives, doulas, & public health & nonprofit leaders who provided ways to address this issue at the federal level.

Finally, we held a press conference on the Inflation Reduction Act.  This bill sends a really clear signal to the rest of the prescription drug world that the day where you can just charge whatever you want — where there’s no transparency on the price of medication — is an era that’s coming to an end.

I am thankful to all those who helped us have a productive day discussing federal solutions that would help Michiganders.

Rep. Slotkin

Earlier this month, I told you about welcoming U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra in our district to address prescription drug costs and shortages, in addition to meeting with advocates to discuss maternal health disparities.

The cost of prescription drugs continues to be one of the top reasons constituents reach out to my office, so it was important to me that Secretary Becerra visit our district.

I will also keep pushing in Congress to bring costs down, and last week I introduced the Increasing Prescription Drug Competition Act.

In short, the new bill expands the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s ability to quickly approve generic drugs under certain conditions because, right now, many pharmaceutical companies abuse the patent system – layering patents over patents – to keep low-cost drug options from coming to market.

This legislation will make it easier for generics to hit shelves, increase competition and ultimately drive down costs.

As Big Pharma uses every tool at their disposal to prop up drug prices, we need to do the same to keep money in people’s pockets.

– Rep. Elissa Slotkin