I wanted to tell you about a bill that would target an issue that Michiganders have been struggling with for far too long: access to life-saving prescription drugs. The American Made Pharmaceuticals Act, which I introduced earlier this month, would encourage U.S. manufacturing of critical pharmaceuticals and reduce dependence on foreign sources.

If COVID taught us anything, it opened our eyes to the consequences of an outsourced pharmaceutical supply chain. When we are dependent on others for absolutely critical supplies like life-saving prescription drugs, we leave patients without vital treatments.

Specifically, the American Made Pharmaceuticals Act would:

• Establish a program at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to test providing preferential treatment for U.S.-manufactured medicines.
• Require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to consider ways to give U.S.-manufactured drugs preference.
• Require eligible pharmaceutical companies to provide transparency on manufacturing locations, maintain appropriate inventory and emergency reserves, and have an action plan for when links in the supply chain break down.
• Direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to submit an annual report to Congress on activities under the program as well as recommendations for any legislative and administrative actions.

This is an issue I’ve been working on for several years. In 2022 I launched the bipartisan Domestic Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Caucus, which works to address drug shortages and encourage domestic production of essential medicines; and my Strengthening America’s Strategic National Stockpile Act was signed into law, improving the U.S. stockpile of critical medical supplies and expanding domestic manufacturing of those supplies. Last summer, I introduced the Ensuring Access to Lifesaving Drugs Act, which would expand the supply of critical drugs during shortages.

It is vital that we become less dependent on other countries, bring jobs back to places like Michigan, and help protect patients from drug shortages.

-Rep. Elissa Slotkin

I wanted to talk to you about a really important development in the effort to lower prescription drug prices: Beginning in January 2026, Medicare beneficiaries will save an estimated $1.5 billion a year in out-of-pocket costs thanks to reduced prescription drug prices announced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

These huge savings are due to Medicare’s ability to – for the first time – negotiate directly with pharmaceutical manufacturers for lower prices, which was authorized when Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act and it was signed into law in 2022. Unlike other countries around the world who negotiate lower prices on behalf of their patients, before we passed the IRA, Medicare was prohibited by law from doing so. Thankfully, that has now changed.

Last summer, the first ten drugs subject to negotiation were announced. Here is a reminder of what those drugs are, what they are used for, and the reduction in cost announced following negotiations:

1. Eliquis, used for preventing strokes and blood clots, reduced 56 percent
2. Jardiance, used for treating Type 2 diabetes and heart failure, reduced 66 percent
3. Xarelto, used for preventing strokes and blood clots, reduced 62 percent
4. Januvia, used for treating Type 2 diabetes, reduced 79 percent
5. Farxiga, used for treating chronic kidney disease, reduced 68 percent
6. Entresto, used for treating heart failure, reduced 53 percent
7. Enbrel, used for treating arthritis and other autoimmune conditions, 67 percent
8. Imbruvica, used for treating blood cancers, reduced 38 percent
9. Stelara, used for treating Crohn’s disease and Psoriasis, reduced 66 percent
10. Fiasp and NovoLog insulin products, used for treating diabetes, reduced 76 percent

There is a reason that I and so many of my colleagues in Congress fought to give Medicare the ability to negotiate drug prices – because it would put money back in the pockets of our seniors and taxpayers.

This announcement shows the concrete benefits of our fight. While these savings are limited to only the above ten drugs this time around, the number of drugs subject to negotiation will increase in the coming years. You can learn more about additional plans for negotiations HERE.

After so much work by dedicated patients, advocates, and lawmakers, Medicare finally has the authority to drive down prices on some of the most common and most expensive prescription drugs, and the difference is measured in billions of dollars.

– Rep. Elissa Slotkin