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Floor Speech
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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, have you ever seen an ad for a pharmaceutical's prescription drugs on television? If the answer is no, then I would suggest you don't own a television, because literally every single day we are bombarded with ads for pharmaceuticals. And they are very profitable because the drugs themselves are expensive, and people are encouraged to say to their doctors: I think I need Xarelto.
And the doctor might have to tell them: Xarelto has nothing to do with your current physical condition.
But, doctor, I have seen it on television so many times, and those people seem so happy. They are dancing once they take Xarelto.
Well, the doctors have to, many times, warn them about being lured into believing that it is something they need.
But there are people who definitely do need prescription drugs, and we know that story as well. But many people, despite their best efforts to comply with what the doctor wants, can't afford it.
Drugs cost a lot of money. In fact, they cost dramatically more money for exactly the same drugs in the United States as those for sale in Canada.
Why? Because the Canadian Government cares and the Canadian Government has laws that limit the prices that can be charged to Canadians in their health system for the same prescription drugs. Many times, we don't have that.
When he was campaigning for President in 2016, Donald Trump made it clear where he stood on this. I quote him: ``When it comes time to negotiate the cost of drugs, we are going to negotiate like crazy,'' he said in 2016. Then he got elected, and he said: Fixing the injustice of high drug prices is one of the top Trump priorities. Prices will come down, he said. But they never did. Despite years of talk, Trump failed--no greatness there.
Thankfully, President Biden and Vice President Harris did more than just talk; they delivered. You see, for decades, the Medicare Program was blocked from bargaining with Big Pharma. Many of us kept arguing: Well, we let the Veterans Administration bargain to get lower prices for our veterans. Why wouldn't we do the same for elderly Americans?
But we changed that. We changed it in a bill called the Inflation Reduction Act.
Last month, President Biden and Vice President Harris succeeded in negotiating with pharmaceutical companies to lower prices for 10 of the most expensive drugs under Medicare. Some of the prices were lowered by up to 79 percent. As a result of this negotiation, 9 million seniors will save a total of $1.5 billion each year in copays on these 10 drugs. That is real money, real savings for real people.
For example, 142,000 seniors in Illinois take Xarelto or Eliquis as a blood thinner, costing Medicare nearly $25 billion last year. But thanks to the new law, Medicare was able to negotiate a price reduction of 60 percent, up to $3,840 off the annual pricetag for seniors who were taking these two blood thinners.
Last week, I met with pharmacists from the University of Illinois in Chicago. They shared with me how many patients are forced to ration doses between paychecks. They said that should not be a reality in our Nation.
Well, we are just getting started. Next year, Medicare will negotiate lower prices for another 15 drugs, and another 20 the year after that.
We also capped the price of insulin to $35, thanks to the Presiding Officer, saving 50,000 seniors in Illinois approximately $500 next year.
We made vaccines under Medicare free. Vaccines can be expensive. The shingles vaccine cost up to $385. Now they are free for seniors.
Starting in January, we will impose a $2,000 annual cap on out-of- pocket costs for seniors, no matter how expensive their medications are.
But let me remind you--this is for a matter of record: Every single Republican Senator voted against these prescription drug savings. That bears repeating. Every single Republican Senator in this Chamber voted against this effort to lower prescription drug prices.
While Big Pharma has raked in many millions and billions of dollars, they have also worked to block this law. They have Republican allies in Congress plotting how to repeal these historic price savings.
How can the Republicans explain that? You have got seniors, many on fixed incomes, with expensive drugs that they need to stay alive, and they can't afford them.
We believe those prices ought to come down for those seniors, like insulin. That is a life-or-death drug for many people. The fact that we want to lower prices for seniors is just common sense.
So how do the Republicans explain it? You heard it earlier. Anyone who wants the government to step in and negotiate lower prices is a Marxist, a socialist, a communist. You hear this over and over again.
Well, if you are a student of history, this is nothing new. That is what they said about Social Security. That is what they said about Medicare and Medicaid. They believe that there is just way too much government for the government to step in and lower prescription drug prices. I don't. I think that is a reasonable role by government.
Remember, these same prescription drugs--virtually all of them--began with federally paid research, medical research by the National Institutes of Health, which taxpayers pay for. And the companies develop the drugs, and I thank God they do. But to say we should have nothing to say about the cost of those drugs and the burden they place on seniors is just unreasonable.
When it comes to critical medications, no one should have to choose between their wallet and their life.
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