Senator Baldwin Introduces Bill to Cap Prescription Drug Costs

The Capping Prescription Costs Act would cap annual out-of-pocket prescription drug costs per year at $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for families

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) joined a group of her colleagues in introducing the Capping Prescription Costs Act, legislation that would lower prescription drug costs for millions of Americans by placing annual caps on out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs at $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for families with private insurance. This legislation builds on the success of the Baldwin-backed Inflation Reduction Act, which capped prescription drug costs for seniors, extending the savings to the commercial health care market.

“While the big drug companies are raking in billions of dollars in profits, too many families across Wisconsin are scraping to get by and forced to make impossible decisions to afford the prescription drugs they need to stay healthy,” said Senator Baldwin. “It’s wrong and we have to do more to hold these price-gouging companies accountable and keep costs down for families. Our legislation will lower the price of prescription drugs and help ensure that every Wisconsinite has access to the quality, affordable health care that they deserve.”

Over 60 percent of American adults take at least one prescription drug, with 25 percent of adults taking four or more. Yet Americans often pay more for the same prescription drugs than people in other countries, and due to the cost burden, American patients often cannot afford their medications as prescribed. This results in patients skipping doses, cutting doses in half, or taking over-the-counter medications instead of their prescriptions. One study found that 31 percent of patients did not take their medications as prescribed due to cost. The new $2,000 cap on cost-sharing for individuals and $4,000 for families will apply to all of the 173 million Americans who have private health insurance.

Senator Baldwin has long championed bringing down prescription drug costs. In August 2022, Senator Baldwin helped pass the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to lower health care and prescription drug costs for older adults, people with disabilities, and families across the nation. Starting in January 2023, the IRA capped the cost of insulin for Medicare Part D beneficiaries at $35 a month for certain covered insulin products.

Senator Baldwin also launched an investigation into the extremely high prices four large pharmaceutical companies charge for inhalers that 25 million Americans with asthma and 16 million Americans with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) rely on to breathe. In just two months after the investigation was launched, three of the four pharmaceutical companies capped their out-of-pocket costs for their inhaler products at $35 per month in the United States.

This legislation is led by Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and is co-sponsored by Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), John Fetterman (D-PA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Peter Welch (D-VT).

Full text of the legislation is available here.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.