The average prescription drug cost was nearly $600 last year, up more than $400 since 2017.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) wants the House of Representatives to vote on legislation he co-sponsored that he said will reduce prescription drug prices.
According to Blumenthal, the Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act would make it harder for drug companies to prevent generic, less expensive versions of their medication from being sold on the market.
“When a new drug applies for a patent, these companies throw a thicket of patent applications at the system, in effect, to block competitors with lower prices,” Blumenthal said on Monday. “Consumers need and deserve choices for generics or biosimilars that have lower prices; drugs with lower prices that have the same effect.”
The bill, sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), passed the Senate unanimously in July.
Connecticut AARP director Nora Duncan said her organization supports the bill.
“We recently at AARP surveyed members and nonmembers alike about what some of their biggest concerns are, and 84% of people came back that the high cost of prescription drugs is of a major concern to them and their daily lives,” Duncan said.
The prices of 54 drugs available to seniors through Medicare Part B were recently lowered for the final quarter of 2024, because the prices rose faster than inflation, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Medicare beneficiaries out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs will be capped at $2,000 in 2025.
