Senator Hassan Joins Colleagues in Introducing Comprehensive Legislation to Address Skyrocketing Prescription Drug Prices

WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan, a member of the Senate Finance Committee and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, today joined Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) and a group of their colleagues in introducing comprehensive legislation to hold large pharmaceutical companies accountable and bring down skyrocketing prescription drug costs.  

“Families are struggling because of the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs,” Senator Hassan said. “From allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prices, to permitting the safe importation of drugs from countries like Canada and blocking unfair drug monopolies, this comprehensive legislation will help hold big pharmaceutical companies accountable and lower costs for individuals and families across the country.”

The Affordable Medications Act is a comprehensive set of reforms that will help lower prices by:

• Requiring pharmaceutical companies to report how much they spend on research and development, advertising, marketing, CEO pay;
• Making drugs more affordable by allowing Medicare to use its buying power to negotiate lower prices; penalizing drug companies that spike drug prices; and allowing for the safe importation of cheaper drugs from other countries, like Canada;
• Creating an innovation fund for new antibiotics and publicly funding clinical trials for new drugs to spur innovation;
• Blocking unfair and anticompetitive drug monopoly practices and helping more low-cost generic competitors come to market.

You can read a summary of the bill here and a section-by-section of the legislation here.

Senator Hassan has long fought to lower the rising cost of prescription drugs for Granite Staters and all Americans. The Senator also cosponsored bipartisan legislation, which has now been signed into law, that prohibits so-called “pharmacy gag clauses” that conceal prescription drug prices from patients.

###