[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 61 (Wednesday, April 6, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E362]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       AFFORDABLE INSULIN NOW ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. GARRET GRAVES

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 31, 2022

  Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, Pharma Bro Martin Shkreli 
should have dozens of jailbird colleagues for the unethical practices 
of many in the pharmaceutical industry. There is no question that the 
price of insulin, EpiPens, asthma inhalers and hundreds of other drugs 
are multiple times what they should be and that needs to change. While 
I support the goal of H.R. 6833, as written the bill does nothing to 
actually lower the price of insulin--and zero for other drugs. The bill 
simply mandates that the out-of-pocket cost not exceed $35 for insulin. 
If you think insurance companies are just going to eat this extra cost 
then I've got a bridge to sell. Insurance companies will simply 
increase premiums to cover the extra cost. This means everyone pays 
more. It's a shell game. Obamacare has been a mess and that law doesn't 
need any help in further raising insurance premiums. For that reason, I 
will vote `NAY' for the bill. The solution here is to actually lower 
the cost of the prescriptions. This can be done by stopping patent 
abuse by pharmaceutical companies, allowing importation of drugs from 
countries with appropriate quality control, and incentivizing generic 
manufacturers. H.R. 19 is a bill that takes steps in the right 
direction. I would vote for that, but I am working with another 
bipartisan group on a better solution.

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