King Presses President Obama to Help Bring Down Soaring Cost of Prescription Drugs

Today, U.S. Senator Angus King pressed for action from President Obama to help bring down the soaring cost of prescription drugs for people in Maine and across the country. In a letter sent Tuesday morning, Senator King and a group of lawmakers called for more support in the President's 2017 budget proposal to help address prescription drug prices and cut health care costs.

"Prescription drug prices are soaring in the United States, driving up costs in federal healthcare programs and households alike. As a result, patients are left with the unimaginable choice of foregoing life-saving care or depleting family savings. These patients deserve better," Senator King and his colleagues wrote.

"Most Americans agree that current drug costs are unreasonable. We must act now to address the escalating prescription drug prices and contain rising health care costs," the continued. "We applaud the measures your administration has advanced in the past on prescription drugs and hope that you will expand on them in next year's budget."

The lawmakers urged the President, as he lays out his funding priorities for 2017, to do several things to address this growing problem: allow the government to negotiate prices with drug manufactures, promote competition in the generic drug market, prevent price gouging, and outlaw "pay for delay," which is a practice where brand drug companies pay generic drug companies to stay out of the market. In addition, the Senators called on the President to implement Medicare policies that will reimburse based on value instead of volume, meaning that drug companies will get paid for their performance in treating people.

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