Senate Majority Leader Schumer (D-NY) announced on Wednesday that under the Democrats’ agreement to lower prescription drug prices the cost of insulin will drop to $35/month.
Democrats To Lower The Price Of Insulin To $35/Month
Video of Schumer:
Majority Leader Schumer announces that insulin will cost $35/month under the agreement to lower prescription drug prices. pic.twitter.com/NiaoPDO3KD
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) November 3, 2021
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Schumer said on the Senate floor:
 For too many Americans, all it takes is a sudden serious illness and you can find yourselves spending hundreds if not thousands and several thousands of dollars per year, just to afford things like insulin or vitally-needed cancer treatments. It’s profoundly unfair and wholly un-American. Imagine the strain you can face: someone—you or a loved one—is ill and you can’t afford the medicine, and you see them, their condition getting worse and worse. I can’t think of things that are worse than that.
 Yesterday, we took a large step forward in helping alleviate that problem. For the first time ever, Medicare will be empowered to directly negotiate prices in Part B and Part D. This will directly reduce out-of-pocket drug spending for millions of patients every time they visit a pharmacy or a doctor.
 Our agreement does other things as well. It will cap out-of-pocket spending at $2,000 per year, ending the dilemma I just spoke about where a life-changing diagnosis could mean thousands upon thousands of dollars in new expenses that an individual can’t afford.
This agreement will lower insulin prices so that Americans with diabetes don’t pay more than $35 per month for their insulin. Let me repeat that because it’s amazing how the cost of insulin used to be so reasonable and has skyrocketed over the last few years, with very little reasonable, justifiable explanation. This agreement will lower insulin prices so that Americans with diabetes don’t pay more than $35 per month for their insulin.
 And it will reform the pharmaceutical industry to stop price gouging and make sure our country’s drug pricing system benefits patients, not corporations.
 Senate Democrats Are Kicking It In Gear After A Rough Election Night
Senate Democrats got a wake-up call on election night. Schumer also talked about in his remarks the need to get Build Back Better passed quickly. Lowering the cost of prescription drugs will give Democrats in the House and Senate something to campaign on, as Republicans in both chambers will vote against Build Back Better.
Lower prescription drug prices will save lives while reminding voters of why they elected Democratic House and Senate majorities in 2020.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
