Wednesday, July 8, 2020
 
…
The Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act would reform and rationalize the Medicare Part D payment formula, reduce overall drug costs, save the federal government  roughly $100 billion over a decade, and reduce out of pocket costs for seniors by almost as much. Lawmakers should be building upon, not abandoning, this bipartisan legislation. The following is a statement from Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget:
 
“Health care costs and drug spending remain too high and this is an issue lawmakers should be working to address rather than abandoning. Fixing Medicare’s benefit design can help bring these costs down.
 
“The Senate Finance Committee legislation would remove perverse incentives that drive up drug costs, while putting forward new policies to limit excessive spending for seniors and the government, alike.
…
“Policymakers must not let good health care reform fail. They should continue to work on a bipartisan basis to address the high and rising  costs of prescription drugs, end  surprise billing through reforms that have support from both parties and both chambers of Congress,  reduce excessive Medicare payments, and  lower economy-wide health care costs.
 
“We literally cannot afford to let partisan and special-interest politics get in the way of substantive  efforts to stem the growth of health care costs.”
-30-