Press Release

Welch gets commitment from Secretary Kennedy to work on
bipartisan Welch-Hawley bill
to lower prescription drug prices for Americans
WASHINGTON, D.C
.— In a Senate Finance Committee hearing today,
U.S.
Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.)
took
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
to task for the Trump Administration’s failure to lower prescription drug prices for everyday Americans. Senator Welch grilled Secretary Kennedy on how TrumpRx—the Trump Administration’s new direct-to-consumer prescription drug platform—has made Big Pharma richer without meaningfully lowering drug prices for American families.
“The point here is TrumpRx was sold as the ‘cheapest prices.’ Our research challenges that, unfortunately….What I understand is that all but
one
of the 16 TrumpRx companies have
increased
prescription drug prices since making their deals. The prices are going
up!
Companies that signed deals made even
more
money,”
said Senator Welch
. “Let’s just level: It’s 80 drugs out of 24,000—you can’t be eligible if you’re on any other health care. The companies that have agreed to this have had increased profits [to] $170 billion. TrumpRx is a fraud.”
Watch Senator Welch’s remarks
here
:
Read a key excerpt of Senator Welch’s exchange with Secretary Kennedy:
Sen. Welch
: The point here is TrumpRx was sold as the ‘cheapest prices.’ Our research shows—challenges that, unfortunately. Another thing, TrumpRx isn’t even the cheapest prices in the United States. Only a small fraction of available drugs are included. There are 24,000 FDA-approved drugs—80 drugs are on TrumpRx—
literally
, 80 drugs. That obviously means that, for the vast majority of drugs, they are not even in TrumpRx. The other thing that is important is that everyday Americans cannot access TrumpRx…A patient is not eligible if he or she is enrolled in any federal or state health care program with prescription drug coverage, such as Medicaid or Medicare, or any similar federal health program—TRICARE. Do you dispute that?
Sec. Kennedy
: [no response]
Sen. W
elch
: The vast majority of people aren’t even eligible. You know, the other point is: who’s really benefiting? You mentioned that there was $1.3 trillion in market increase for the drug companies—but I’m not seeing any reduction in cost to everyday Americans who want to get prescription drugs.
At the hearing, Senator Welch pressed and gained a commitment from Secretary Kennedy that his administration would support efforts to pass the
Fair Prescription Drug Prices for Americans Act
,
bipartisan legislation led by Senator Welch and Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.),
which would prohibit pharmaceutical companies from selling drugs in the United States at higher prices than an international average:
Sen. Welch
: Here’s my concern: I met with President Trump in his first term. He said very directly—and he has on the campaign—that people are getting ripped off with  Pharma pricing. He gets it, but he’s not solving it.
TrumpRx doesn’t work
. I have a bill cosponsored by Senator Hawley—the
Fair Prescription Drug Prices for Americans Act—
which would prohibit pharmaceutical companies from selling drugs in the United States at higher prices than at the international average, which is something I thought the President said he supported. Does your administration support that legislation?
Sec. Kennedy
: Senator, we would love to work with you on the codification. This does not—TrumpRx does not yet cover every drug. It covers the most common drugs, it’s dropped the price of GLPs’ by 89%.
Sen. Welch
: Let’s just level, though: It’s 80 drugs out of 24,000—
Sec. Kennedy
: It’s the most common drugs. It’s the most common drugs. It’s the most commonly used drugs. It’s asthma drugs, it’s insulin, it’s GLPs, it’s all the most—
Sen. Welch
: You can’t be eligible if you’re on any other health care. The companies that have agreed to this have had increased profits by $170 billion. TrumpRx is a fraud.
•••
Earlier this year, Senator Welch joined colleagues in
expressing concern
to the HHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) about how the OIG will conduct oversight and apply the federal Anti-Kickback Statute to direct-to-consumer platforms such as TrumpRx. Senator Welch also led six of his colleagues in
demanding transparency
from HHS on the scope, structure, and legal authority of TrumpRx.
Senator Welch was a staunch opponent of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s appointment to serve as HHS Secretary. In September, Senator Welch grilled Secretary Kennedy about the disastrous impact of President Trump’s so-called
One Big Beautiful Bill Act
and delivered a scathing review of the secretary’s tenure in a speech from the Senate floor. The Senator also joined Senate Finance Committee Democrats in urging Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) to launch a fact-based, bipartisan investigation into Secretary Kennedy for his repeated anti-vaccine actions and conflicts of interest.
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