Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current, August 20, 2021, Image 13

Historic Oregon Newspapers

Northwest labor press., August 20, 2021, Page 13, Image 13

Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR

About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 20, 2021)

Prev Page of 28 Next Prev Issue Next Text PDF JP2 (910.5 KB) Clip/Print Image

Return to Top

Prev Page of 28 Next Prev Issue Next

Newspaper Page TextNORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | August 20, 2021 | PAGE 13 HEALTH CARE Unions call for Medicare to lower drug prices On July 30—the 56th anniver- sary of the establishment of the game-changing Medicare pro- gram, Oregon U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley joined AFSCME inter- national president Lee Saun- ders, Oregon Alliance for Re- tired Americans president Everice Moro, and several other allies on a Zoom press confer- ence to urge Congress to give Medicare the authority to nego- tiate lower drug prices directly with pharmaceutical companies — just like other countries do. Today, Medicare and Medi- caid insure one in three Ameri- cans. “We need to recognize that when the market is not working for people, we need to change the rules and un-rig the sys- tem,” Saunders said. “That means we need to do something about out-of-control prescrip- tion drug costs.” Sen. Merkley said he hears from constituents all the time— regardless of their political stripes—who are looking for some sort of relief for high pre- scription drug prices. He said the average American spends $1,200 a year on prescription drugs, “far more than the rest of the world.” He told the story of a 77- year-old woman living on a fixed income who for years was able to pay for a specialized in- haler. “Then, all of a sudden, her insurance company moved it to a Tier 4 drug and her out-of- pocket expenses jumped to $500 a month.” The same in- haler in Canada costs $79. “Why should she have to pay $6,000 a year to be able to com- plete the most basic, fundamen- tal biological function of the hu- man body ... breathing in, and breathing out.” In April, Merkley introduced the End Price Gouging For Medication Act. The bill would require pharmaceutical compa- nies to sell their products in the United States at the same price they sell it to other developed countries. If they don’t, they would face expensive penalties. Merkley is pushing to in- clude the End Price Gouging For Medication Act to the Build Back Better reconciliation bill. Merkley said there is no rea- son that Americans should be paying two-and-a-half times more for prescription drugs or three-and-a-half times more for brand name drugs than the rest of the world. The pharmaceuti- cal industry has been allowed for too long the ability to “rip off” and “gouge” older and sicker Americans, he said. Moro, president of the OARA, said the U.S. can make medicines much more afford- able for seniors and people with disabilities by allowing Medi- care to negotiate lower prices. “That’s a long overdue im- provement that we know will work, because it already works to lower prices in other areas of government like the Veterans Administration and Medicaid,” she said. “Negotiating prices would save us all money at the phar- macy, but it would also save Medicare hundreds of billions of dollars that then could be in- vested in making more im- provements ... dental, vision, and hearing coverage for sen- iors,” she concluded. Supporters of Medicare expansion rally outside Congressman Kurt Schrader’s oﬃce September 2019.