NEWS: Sanders Statement on Medicare Negotiating Drug Prices

BURLINGTON, Vt., Aug. 29 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, on Tuesday issued the following statement after the Biden Administration announced the first ten prescription drugs that will be subject to price negotiations between Medicare and drug manufacturers:

“While the pharmaceutical industry makes huge profits every year, the American people pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. And that situation is getting worse. Last year, the median price of new drugs approved by the FDA was over $220,000.

“The Inflation Reduction Act will enable Medicare to negotiate prices for ten major drugs in 2026, and will save Medicare many billions of dollars. This is not a radical idea. It is something the Veterans Administration has been doing for 30 years, and what every major country on Earth does.

“While this is an important step forward in taking on the greed of the pharmaceutical industry and their 1,800 paid lobbyists in Washington, D.C., much more has to be done to protect the American people. Bottom line: We should not be paying any more for prescription drugs than other countries around the world. As the Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, I look forward to working with the President and my colleagues to make that happen.”