Senator Hassan Statement on Prescription Drug Pricing Agreement in Budget Bill

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) issued the following statement after the announcement of a White House and Congressional agreement on measures to lower prescription drug prices in the budget bill. The agreement includes key priorities that Senator Hassan has pushed for throughout her time in the Senate, including to allow Medicare to negotiate the price of some of the most expensive prescription drugs, create rebates for drug prices that rise above the cost of inflation, and cap out-of-pocket costs for Medicare Part D recipients.

“The high cost of prescription drugs is one of the most pressing challenges that Granite Staters have raised with me for years,” said Senator Hassan. “The priorities in today’s agreement will make a big difference for Granite State families, and especially our seniors – it will lower everyday costs and ensure that people can get the medicine that they need to stay healthy and thrive. I am glad to have worked across the aisle to develop some of these critical provisions, and I will keep pushing to include them as part of the budget bill that we continue to negotiate.”

Senator Hassan has led efforts to bring down prescription drug costs as a member of the Senate Finance and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committees. In 2019, Senator Hassan helped advance major bipartisan legislation through the Senate Finance Committee to lower prescription drug costs by capping out-of-pocket costs for Medicare Part D beneficiaries and crack down on pharmaceutical companies that raise drug prices higher than inflation. Senator Hassan has previously introduced legislation to allow Medicare to negotiate the best possible price when it pays for prescription drugs. Current law prohibits Medicare from bargaining for prices.  

Senator Hassan previously led successful, bipartisan efforts with Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) to secure a provision, signed into law in December, to help end the practice of surprise medical billing. Senators Hassan and Cassidy also successfully passed into law their bipartisan legislation to enhance education about biosimilar drug products in an effort to increase competition and lower the cost of biologic medicines. 

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