Klobuchar Calls For Crackdown On Companies Jacking Up Drug Prices
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar called Monday for a federal crackdown on pharmaceutical companies that are raising the prices of lifesaving drugs to record levels.
In Minneapolis, the senator toured a Children's Hospital cancer treatment center, and said she will push Congress to rein in prescription drug price hikes.
"This is a widespread practice that's affecting all different kinds of families and all different kinds of drugs," said Klobuchar, a Democrat.
Tim and Terri Dwyer's two children, Aaron and Abby, are both being treated for cancer at Children's Hospital in Minneapolis. But even when they manage to raise enough money to pay for medication treatment, they sometimes have to wait.
"Sometimes I wonder if I have post-traumatic stress disorder," said Terri Dwyer, of Cambridge.
Her husband added: "We should not have to fight for this. Or, when we finally do get the approval, only to say, 'Oh, I'm sorry there is a shortage.'"
The Dwyers joined Klobuchar on a tour of the C.H. Robinson Infusion Center on Monday. During the visit, Klobuchar said Congress needs to rein in drug company prices and policies.
She asked how it's possible for pharmaceutical companies to charge double in America for lifesaving drugs that kids need to stay alive.
Klobuchar has introduced bills to allow patients to get medications from Canada, at half the price. The bill would also forbid drug companies from paying generic companies to keep drugs off the market.
Moreover, she wants to allow Medicare to negotiate directly with drug companies.
The action comes just weeks after a drug company executive jacked up the price of a life-saving medication 5,000 percent -- from $13 a pill to $750 a pill.
The Dwyers say it's all had a big impact on their family, including treatments their doctor says can cost $200,000 to $300,000 each.
"And what we find is that families sometimes cannot afford the out of pocket costs for these drugs, which can be thousands of thousands of dollars per year," said Dr. Joanna Perkins.
Pharmaceutical companies say the price of medicine reflects the cost of research and developing new cures.
But Klobuchar says research doesn't cost more in the U.S. than in other countries -- and the U.S. pays more than anywhere else.