Affordable Insulin Now Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

First of all, this is not price control. It is limiting the purchaser on a price, but the companies are still going to charge what they are going to charge, and somebody is going to have to pay, and Medicare is going to have to pay. So, it does increase the cost. But it is not price control on the pharmaceuticals. And I want to say that we have a bill, of course, that will allow negotiation in Medicare, just as the VA does.

Negotiation is not price control. Negotiation is saying, I am going to buy a lot of your product, and I want a better price.

A lot of us do that. We call it Sam's Club, or some other club that we go to. And we buy large volumes and get a cheaper price than our poorer friends who just buy it one at a time. So I am for this bill. It is a good bill.

Madam Speaker, I thank Representatives Craig, Kildee, and McBath for their leadership on this bill. They have long been champions of making healthcare and prescription medications accessible and affordable for all Americans.

More than one in three Americans are at high risk of developing diabetes, and over 37 million Americans already have it. A lot of those folks can't do without insulin. They don't have an option. And insulin has been on the market for decades and is not protected under patent, and the development prices have ages ago been amortized.

Madam Speaker, to treat their condition, the people who have diabetes must rely on insulin injections to regulate their blood sugar levels. Now, if you have no option of not buying a product, those who sell that product can put the price wherever, if it means your life. A lack of insulin can lead to insulin shock, diabetic coma, kidney failure, and death.

It is unacceptable that this lifesaving medication is priced out of reach for many who need it because it costs so little to produce.

This is not a mechanism that has to charge these prices because it took so much to produce it. It costs only $10 to manufacture a month's supply. Yet, a month's supply can cost hundreds of dollars. However, with out-of-pocket costs as high as over $600 for a 40-day supply--now, if you extrapolate 40 days, that is 10 days more than a month, so that is a third more. So let's say it costs $13 to produce. $600. Why?

Because if they don't have it, they die.

So all we are saying is, let's make sure this is affordable so people can sustain their lives and their health.

Many Americans have resorted to rationing by skipping doses of their insulin because they can't afford it. The legislation before us would cap the out-of-pocket price of insulin at $35 a month.

Let me again remind you, that is 350 percent of the cost of producing it. This would ease the burden of skyrocketing prices and impossible choices.

Americans should not have to choose between paying the rent or for food, whatever, or paying for their insulin. As a matter of fact, they can't make that choice. They need both. They need to eat, and they need to live. And insulin is so often the way they assure that outcome. The prices will continue to rise unless we choose to act today.

Madam Speaker, House Democrats already voted for this measure once, and Republicans already voted against it. So I guess we don't have any surprise of what's going to happen here.

The Republicans are going to say to those who are using insulin: You are on your own. You are on your own. We are not going to worry about it.

And we are going to say: We are here to help. We are here to make sure you don't get ripped off. We are here to make sure that you have the medicine that you absolutely need to survive.

We voted for this measure as part of the Build Back Better Act in November. We made a promise to the American people that we would address the cost of prescription drugs, and we honored that promise.

Republicans said no. They said once again: Consumer, you need insulin, you are on your own. They voted for higher drug prices. They voted for the status quo where many Americans have to choose between lifesaving insulin and putting food on the table.

Today, my fellow colleagues, is an opportunity to vote to save lives and to provide a lifeline for millions of Americans with diabetes.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, do not say to the American people: You are on your own.

Tell them: We are here to help. Vote to help them. Vote to ensure that they will be able to afford a drug they need to protect themselves from death.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in voting to bring prices down across our economy and our healthcare system. Join me in protecting Americans' ability to access lifesaving medication that prevents needless suffering, extends life, and provides a higher quality of living.

Join me in voting for the Affordable Insulin for All Act. Again, I thank Ms. Craig, Mr. Kildee, Mrs. McBath, the chairman of this committee, and all those who brought this bill to the floor.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues, don't say, You are on your own.

Say, We are by your side, and we are here to help.

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