Key Grassley Provisions Included in New Bipartisan Legislation to Lower Prescription Drug Costs and Make Health Care More Affordable

WASHINGTON– Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a senior member and former chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, is cosponsoring legislation alongside Finance Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and 18 senators to improve accountability and oversight of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and bring down the price of prescription drugs for Americans. Grassley is an original cosponsor of the legislation, called thePBM Price Transparency and Accountability Act.
“Iowans at my 99 county meetings are fed up with the high cost of prescription drugs, and for good reason. PBMs are driving local pharmacies in Iowa out of business and making it harder for Iowans to access the medications they need. That’s why I’m introducing legislation with my colleagues to put patients over pharmacy benefit managers by shining a light on the complex and opaque tactics these middlemen use. This landmark bill builds on the bipartisan legislation I spearheaded during my time as Finance Chairman, and includes several proposals I helped craft,”Grassley said.
The Grassley–led provisions included in the bill would:
Several of the above were lifted from thePrescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act, which Grassley led through the Finance Committee as chairman in 2019, and were included in 118thCongress Finance Committeemark-up. ThePrescription Drug Pricing Reduction Actwas an initiative to save seniors and Americans with disabilities $95 billion in out-of-pocket costs in Medicare Part D and reduce premiums by $1 billion.
As then-chairman of Senate Finance Committee in 2003, Grassley was instrumental in creatingMedicare Part D, which was the first outpatient prescription drug benefit for seniors.
You can view the full text of the billHERE.
Additional cosponsors include Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), John Thune (R-S.D.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).
Background:
Grassley has long championed efforts to reduce the cost of prescription drugs. In recent years, three pieces of legislation authored and coauthored by Grassley have been signed into lawsaving taxpayers billionsto combat anticompetitive practices and stop drug makers from reaping profits at the expense of taxpayers and consumers.
Other actions include:
Learn more about Grassley’s persistent efforts to lower prescription drug costsHERE.
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