US Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Susan Collins (R-ME) joined a Washington Post Live event to discuss the high cost of prescription medication in the United States.
In their discussion, the Senators discussed their cross-party (bipartisan) efforts to pass comprehensive Pharmacy Benefits Managers (PBM) reform, lower the cost of insulin, including their Insulin Act, and why it’s so important to lower the cost of prescription medication for US citizens.
Democrat Senator Shaheen reported that: “We have finally said that for people on Medicare (aged 65 and over, under 65s with disabilities, people with end stage renal failure) we’re going to cap the out-of-pocket costs for insulin at $35.
“Senator Collins and I have legislation that would do that for everyone. But more importantly, our bill would get at the underlying list price for insulin.”
Republican Senator Collins added: “Our legislation would address structural issues in the insulin market, create policies to foster more competition and expand access to insulin medications.”