CBS19: Spanberger working to lower prescription drug prices

CBS19, KATHRYN YOUNG

Representative Abigail Spanberger (D-7th-VA) is pushing to lower prescription drug prices by allowing Medicare to negotiate with drug companies, and allow those lower prices to be accessible to Americans with private insurance.

Spanberger, along with other members of the U.S. House of Representatives, wrote about their support of the Lower Drug Costs Now Act in a recent op-ed in the Washington Post.

The bill first passed the House with bipartisan support in 2019, but stalled out in the Senate. It was introduced again this year.

Spanberger says prescription drug prices are the number one thing she hears about from constituents.

“There are people who every single day when they wake up, they’re making decisions about how to go about their day, how to live their lives, based on whether they can afford the medication that they need, and how to afford the medication that they need, and that’s an extraordinary reality and its one that really does impact our entire community, whether its visible to everyone or not,” she said.

The bill, if passed, would allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices the way the the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs already does. According to the op-ed, it would save private businesses $43 billion over 10 years.

According to research cited in the Washington Post op-ed, 88 percent of Americans support these reforms. 

To read the op-ed, click here.