[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 103 (Wednesday, June 19, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3809-S3810]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Prescription Drug Costs

  Madam President, a recent briefing told us a story that most 
Americans can, certainly, understand. People are saying: I can't afford 
to have cancer. What does that mean? It means the obvious--that 40 
percent of Americans lose their entire life savings in 2 years or less 
after having a cancer diagnosis. The cost of healthcare, particularly 
for a serious illness, is so high that if you don't have a really good 
health insurance plan, it will wipe you out. That is the reality.
  So is it any wonder that we are concerned about the lawsuit filed by 
the Trump administration and supported by Republican State attorneys 
general that would remove the guarantee in the law that reads that 
people with preexisting conditions can have health insurance? That, to 
me, is fundamental.
  Over a majority of Americans either have a preexisting condition or 
have someone in the family with such a condition. Without the 
protection of health insurance, people can find themselves literally 
wiped out. When we hear that fewer than 50 percent of the people in 
this country have $1,000 in savings, we can understand that even a trip 
to an emergency room can wipe out the meager savings people have been 
able to put together during the course of their lifetimes.
  Why do Republicans and this President still seem determined to lessen 
the coverage of health insurance for an American population that is so 
vulnerable to the high cost of healthcare?
  When you ask the major insurance companies what is driving up the 
cost of health insurance premiums, they tell you it is pretty obvious. 
More than anything, it is the cost of prescription drugs.
  Last night, in Florida, President Trump announced his plans for 
reelection. I guess my first question to him is this: Will you finish 
what you promised 4 years ago? On two of the things he promised--
infrastructure and doing something about prescription drugs--he has 
done nothing.
  How bad is the prescription drug situation in this country? As I 
said, it is the biggest driver of the increase in health insurance 
premiums. When you look at the specifics, you can see it.
  Take a look at America's insulin scandal. Insulin was discovered 
almost 100 years ago by two Canadian researchers who surrendered the 
U.S. patent rights for $1 and said at the time that no one should ever 
get rich on this lifesaving drug. Now look at what we are faced with--
Humalog, made by Eli Lilly, a common insulin product. Humalog cost $21 
a vile in 1996. That same vile of Humalog today costs $275--$21 to $275 
unless you live in Canada. If you live in Canada, the exact drug, made 
by the same company, sells for $39. It costs $39 just across the border 
in Canada and $275 here in the United States.
  Is it any wonder that people with diabetes are rationing their 
insulin and, in doing so, endangering their health, with, sadly, many 
losing their lives because of that decision?
  Why aren't we taking this on? The American people identify this as 
one of their major concerns when it comes to their economic 
vulnerability.
  We are not taking it on because of the political muscle of PhRMA and 
the pharmaceutical companies. Sadly, they have this Chamber in a 
position where we are not entertaining legislation that would control 
prescription drug pricing, and, frankly, we have no legislative 
proposal coming forward by the Trump administration.
  There are many good ideas out there. For example, do you ever see an 
ad for a pharmaceutical drug on television? If you don't, then you 
don't own a television. You can barely turn them on now without some ad 
for pharma drugs. It reaches the point where people learn how to 
pronounce and even spell Xarelto, having watched the ad so many times, 
and they can recite back to you what is said about various drugs that 
are advertised over and over.
  The problems is, of course, that all of the information they give 
you, as fast as they can talk in 60 or 90 seconds, never includes the 
price. It never includes the price. HUMIRA, the most heavily advertised 
drug on television today--how much does it cost for this drug to treat 
psoriatic arthritis and to clear up the little red spot of psoriasis on 
your elbow? It costs $5,000 a month--$5,000 a month.
  If they were forced to advertise the price of the drug, with all of 
the claims that they make for the drugs, Americans would at least be 
notified about what they are getting into if they go to a doctor and 
ask for HUMIRA, but they will not. They refuse to disclose it.
  So in fairness, the Trump administration's Dr. Azar, the head of HHS, 
called me last year and said he supported the bill that I had 
introduced calling for price disclosure. The administration is trying 
to do this by regulation, and I applaud them for that. There is so much 
more we can do, but I applaud them for that.
  Who turned around to sue them in court to stop the requirement of 
price disclosure on ads? The pharmaceutical companies, including Eli 
Lilly, the one I just mentioned that has the scandalous pricing of 
insulin. They don't want Americans to know what they are charging for 
these drugs. They would rather fight this out over emails between 
insurance companies and prescription benefit managers and the like.
  Well, it is time for us as a Congress, Democrats and Republicans, to 
acknowledge that we have had enough of this. We want pharma to be 
profitable so that they engage in more research for more cures, of 
course, but we can't stand by idly and watch this price gouging at the 
expense of American patients, those with diabetes and other serious 
conditions. We should insist, when it comes to pharma, that they have 
actual price competition.
  They can have a patent period where they have exclusive rights to 
sell a drug. That is the incentive for them to discover these drugs. 
But there comes a point when there are supposed to be other drugs on 
the market--generic drugs--that offer the same benefits as the original 
brand-name drugs but at a much lower price. That was the design of the 
system. It has fallen apart.
  The major drugs for sale in the United States today are going up 
precipitously in price. In the first 2 years of the Trump 
administration, 2,500 major drugs in this country saw their cost 
increase by double digits. That is what we are faced with while the 
Senate does nothing.
  Senator McConnell was here today speaking about the agenda and what 
we need to do. Well, I certainly agree with him. The situation at our 
border needs to be addressed, and it should be quickly. We are going to 
take it up this morning in the Appropriations Committee. But beyond 
that, we need to take a step to deal with the issues that people really 
care about, issues that affect their daily lives, and No. 1 on that 
list--and they tell us No. 1 on their own list--is the cost of 
prescription drugs.
  Now is the time for this Congress and Senate to act. You see this 
empty Chamber? It should be filled with Members of the Senate debating 
bills to

[[Page S3810]]

bring down the high cost of prescription drugs. Instead, it is silent, 
and the best we can do is to get a speech from a Senator from Illinois.
  So I hope someone is listening, and I certainly hope Senator 
McConnell's office is listening.