Schakowsky, Higgins, Wild Introduce Legislation to Prevent Drug Manufacturers from Price Gouging Medicare

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, a Senior Chief Deputy Whip and Chairwoman of the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, was joined by Representatives Brian Higgins (D-NY) and Susan Wild (D-PA) to introduce H.R. 4619, the Pharmaceutical Rebates for Excessive Pricing Above Inflation (REPAI) Act. This legislation will impose a new inflation rebate for the thousands of drugs that older Americans rely on and access through Medicare Part D. If drug manufacturers raise these prices above the rate of inflation, they must either lower their prices or repay the increase above inflation to the United States Treasury.

"On May 22, 2019, in the Rose Garden, President Trump claimed, ‘drug prices are coming down, first time in 51 years, because of my Administration.' Yet Big Pharma has reported price increases on more than 3,400 drugs this year, at a pace five times the rate of inflation," said Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. "The President has consistently broken his promises to lower drug prices, but House Democrats are fighting for the American people. I am proud to introduce the Pharmaceutical REPAI Act with Representatives Higgins and Wild to hold drug manufacturers accountable for their price gouging of Medicare beneficiaries and produce savings that will benefit everyone."

Congressman Higgins added,"For decades, the Medicare program has provided high quality, widely supported care to America's seniors, and today millions of seniors rely on the Medicare Part D program to access the prescription drugs they need. It's our duty to make sure that the program continues to serve its beneficiaries and not the prescription drug companies. The Pharmaceutical REPAI act will prevent skyrocketing price increases and ensure that drugs remain affordable for those who need them."

"Our seniors shouldn't have to worry about the cost of prescription drugs, but sadly they do. I promised to bring an end to price gouging that puts profits over people, and I am proud to deliver on that promise by co-leading the Pharmaceutical REPAI Act – a bill that requires drug manufacturers to pay a rebate to the Medicare Part D fund if the manufacturer unreasonably hikes the price of a drug. This common sense bill will make prescription drugs more affordable and will improve the lives of our seniors in a meaningful way," said Congresswoman Wild.

More than 3,400 drugs have increased their prices through the first six months of this year alone, 17 percent higher than increases over the same period of time last year. These 2019 prices represent an increase of 10.5 percent, or five times the rate of inflation. Over the past five years, brand name drug prices have increased at 10 times the rate of inflation.

Though the consumer price index has increased only about 2 percent annually in recent years, prices have soared exponentially higher for prescription drugs that have been on the market for decades.

• Sanofi continues to increase the price of its popular insulin pen Lantus, which cost just $35 in 2001 and now costs more than $270.
• AbbVie has increased the price of top-selling anti-inflammatory drug Humira by almost 250 percent in the past five years to nearly $40,000.
• Pfizer regularly increases the price of its drugs – often twice a year. In 2017, Pfizer raised drug prices twice by an average of 20 percent for more than 90 drugs.
• In 2017, Celgene increased the price of Revlimid, a critical blood cancer drug, by nearly 20 percent to $18,546.

American families, taxpayers, and our health care system are footing the bill for these price increases and struggling to afford the medications they need to survive. Taxpayers continue to pay more each year because of the rising costs of drugs.

• Medicare spends 23 percent of its budget on prescription drugs, adding to our $22 trillion national debt.
• Medicare spent nearly $130 billion on prescription drugs in 2016, and Medicare's portion of U.S. national drug spending has increased from 18 percent in 2006 to 30 percent in 2017.
• Medicare Part D enrollees spent $31 billion in out-of-pocket costs (premiums and cost-sharing) in 2017.