[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 198 (Wednesday, December 11, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H10022]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INABILITY TO AFFORD PRESCRIPTION DRUGS SHOULD NOT BE A DEATH SENTENCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Virginia (Ms. Wexton) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WEXTON. Mr. Speaker, a constituent of mine named Josh aged out of 
his parent's health insurance when he turned 26. Josh was a Type 1 
diabetic and by then, his insulin cost was nearly $1,200 per month.
  So he switched to over-the-counter insulin because, like so many 
others, he couldn't afford the prescription brand recommended by his 
doctors. Already on a tight budget, Josh was engaged and wanted to save 
up some money for his wedding and building a new life with his fiancee.
  His mother knew that he had changed his medication and when she would 
check on him, his blood sugar would be high, but he assured her that he 
was all right and the insulin was working.
  He was alone at work in June of this year when he suffered a series 
of strokes that would prove fatal, and it was his fiancee who found 
him.
  We have miracle drugs that can save lives, but they don't do any good 
when the American people can't afford them.
  In April, I hosted a roundtable with constituents and healthcare 
providers about the skyrocketing price of diabetes medication. Nurses 
and pharmacists shared stories about patients who had no option but to 
ration their insulin, putting their lives and their health in serious 
jeopardy.
  One, who ran a free clinic, spoke about how refugees were absolutely 
stunned at how much more Americans were paying for their prescription 
drugs than they had in the countries that they were fleeing from.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to support H.R. 3, the Elijah Cummings Lower 
Drug Costs Now Act because the inability to afford necessary drugs 
should not be a death sentence in the United States of America.
  We are going to give HHS the power to negotiate lower drug prices for 
the American people. And those lower prices will be available not only 
to Medicare beneficiaries, but also to Americans with private health 
insurance.
  With the projected savings from this bill, nearly half a trillion 
dollars, we will provide vision, dental, and hearing benefits for all 
Medicare beneficiaries and invest in new medical research.
  American families and seniors should not pay more for their 
medications than what the drug companies charge people in other 
countries.
  This bill is a win for the American people. It represents a historic 
investment in Medicare and historic savings on the cost of prescription 
drugs. Without this legislation, the rising price of prescription drugs 
will continue to take a toll on the finances of American families, and 
in worst cases, cost lives.
  What happened to Josh should never happen to anyone in this country. 
I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this 
lifesaving legislation.

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