[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 27, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H3916]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1045
                  LOWERING COST OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Nevada (Mrs. Lee) for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as Americans continue 
to face a prescription drug crisis.
  Americans pay three to four times more than families in other 
developed countries for the exact same drugs. Kids, families, seniors, 
we all feel the effects of skyrocketing prices of medications.
  Mr. Speaker, insulin costs have grown to 10 times that of any other 
developed country, with annual costs per patient, for just the insulin, 
now at nearly $6,000.
  One in four seniors reports difficulty affording their prescriptions, 
with one in five reporting not taking their medication because of the 
cost.
  This is heartbreaking. It is unacceptable, and it demands that we, as 
Members of Congress, must take action now.
  Whether it is H.R. 3, empowering Medicare to negotiate prescription 
drug prices, which will bring down prescription costs, not just for 
seniors, but for individuals and families across America, or my bill, 
the Seniors SAVE on Prescription Drugs Act, which will strengthen 
senior savings and expand access to the Medicare Part D Extra Help 
program.
  It is time for us to lower drug prices, lower premiums, and lower 
out-of-pocket costs for American families. And it is time to take 
action and end our prescription drug crisis now.

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