SYRACUSE, N.Y. — U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.) recently made a stop in Syracuse to discuss her proposal for Congressional action to address the high cost of prescription drugs. Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Aging Committee, visited Upstate Medical University’s Institute for Human Performance on April 29 to outline her policy package, dubbed the […]
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.) recently made a stop in Syracuse to discuss her proposal for Congressional action to address the high cost of prescription drugs.
Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Aging Committee, visited Upstate Medical University’s Institute for Human Performance on April 29 to outline her policy package, dubbed the “Gillibrand Prescription for Lower Drug Prices.”
“While our nation is recovering from the pandemic, drug prices remain unacceptably high, which puts a heavy financial burden on older adults and families in Syracuse and across the country,” the senator said in a news release about the proposal. “I am releasing [this] plan to provide a framework for slashing drug prices. From fighting price gouging to importing affordable drugs from Canada to enabling Medicare to negotiate drug prices, this plan will help us bring down costs for countless Americans.”
Dr. Mantosh Dewan, president of SUNY Upstate Medical University; New York State Senator John Mannion; Onondaga County Legislator Peggy Chase; Onondaga County Legislature Minority Leader Christopher Ryan, and Syracuse Common Council President Helen Hudson joined Gillibrand for her announcement.
Under current law, the secretary of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is prohibited from negotiating lower drug prices on behalf of Medicare Part D beneficiaries, Gillibrand’s office said. In contrast, other government programs, like Medicaid and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are allowed to negotiate.
The Democrat’s office cited a recent report by the Government Accountability Office that indicated Medicare paid twice as much for the same prescription drugs as the VA in 2017.
About Gillibrand’s proposal
The core pieces of the “Gillibrand Prescription for Lower Drug Prices” include a plan to” reimagine” financial assistance for Medicare.
The legislation would create the Medicare Cost Assistance Program, a new, streamlined program to provide help with Medicare Part A and Part B premiums and cost-sharing for low-income individuals. The measure would reimagine financial help for Medicare Part A, Part B, and Part D.
The legislation would also expand and streamline administration of the Extra Help program to provide premium and cost-sharing assistance to eligible low-income people with Medicare Part D.
The proposal also calls for reviewing brand-name price gouging. The legislation would level the market for Americans purchasing prescription drugs by “pegging the price” in the U.S. to the median price in Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Japan.
Additionally, Gillibrand’s plan would give Medicare the authority to negotiate drug prices. The bill would direct the secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs under Medicare Part D.
The proposal would also allow patients, pharmacists, and wholesalers to import “safe, affordable” medicine from Canada and other major countries.
Gillibrand’s plan would also make Medicare beneficiaries in U.S. territories, such as Puerto Rico, eligible for the Medicare Part D Low Income Subsidy program. This program — known as “Extra Help,” — provides federal subsidies to help low-income seniors with their monthly premiums and other out-of-pocket prescription drug costs, Gillibrand’s office said.