President Biden to Travel to Virginia to Join Rep. Spanberger in the Push to Pass Build Back Better
Washington, DC – Tomorrow, President Biden will join U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07) in Virginia to urge Congress to pass the Build Back Better Act, including its critical provisions to lower prescription drug prices for American families. Build Back Better’s drug pricing measures are central to the bill’s broad popularity and will lower costs for millions of Americans. In response, Protect Our Care Deputy Communications Director Maddie Twomey issued the following statement:
“Representative Spanberger is a tireless advocate for working families and a true health care champion. Virginians are sick and tired of paying three times more for their prescriptions than people in other countries. Build Back Better will put an end to the broken system that allows Big Pharma to call the shots while seniors and families struggle to afford the medications they need to survive. Thanks to leaders like Rep. Spanberger, we are closer than ever to delivering relief where Virginians need it most and lowering drug prices once and for all.”
Abigail Spanberger Is Fighting For Lower Drug Prices. Rep. Spanberger says prescription drug prices are the number one thing she hears about from constituents. “There are people who every single day when they wake up, they’re making decisions about how to go about their day, how to live their lives, based on whether they can afford the medication that they need, and how to afford the medication that they need, and that’s an extraordinary reality and its one that really does impact our entire community, whether its visible to everyone or not,” Spanberger said.
Spenberger: “End The Monopoly. Let Medicare Negotiate Drug Prices.” Spanberger, along with some Democratic colleagues, wrote about their support of the Lower Drug Costs Now Act in a 2021 op-ed in the Washington Post. Spanberger wrote, “Medicare, the U.S. government’s health insurance program for seniors, has long been prohibited by law from negotiating the prices it pays to drugmakers for medications. We know the pharmaceutical industry is using this loophole to set and keep prices high. That’s why giving Medicare the power to negotiate drug prices must be a priority. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs already enjoys this leverage. Extending that power to Medicare is a step the House took in 2019 with Republican votes — only to see it die in the Senate. We have another chance to pass it now as part of President Biden’s economic agenda.”
2021: Rep. Spanberger Voted For The Build Back Better Bill, Which Will Lower Prescription Drug Prices. Rep. Spanberger voted for the Build Back Better bill in November 2021. Under this plan, Medicare will be empowered to negotiate prices for select drugs purchased at the pharmacy counter and administered at a doctor’s office. Beginning in 2025, 10 drugs, in addition to insulin, will be negotiated with that number increasing to 20 drugs in 2028 and into the future. Drug companies who refuse to come to the negotiating table will be subject to an excise tax. Under BBB, all Americans with insurance will see their insulin co-pays capped at $35 each month, and for seniors Medicare Part D out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs will be capped at $2,000 per year.
2020: Rep. Spanberger Sponsored Legislation To Increase Drug Price Transparency. Spanberger sponsored legislation to increase transparency around drug prices to create incentives to help keep prices down. Spanberger sponsored the Public Disclosure of Drug Discounts Act, which would require the rebates, discounts, and price concessions PBM’s negotiate to be made public on a website through the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.
2019: Rep. Spanberger Voted For Historic Legislation To Lower Prescription Drug Prices. Rep. Spanberger voted for the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act (H.R. 3), historic legislation to drastically reduce Americans’ prescription drug prices by up to 55% and save taxpayers nearly $500 billion over the next 10 years. H.R. 3 included the most comprehensive drug pricing reform in American history and the largest expansion to Medicare’s benefits in decades.