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seat to democracy. >> president biden announced his administration's intention to cap prescription drug costs annually for all americans at $2000. this also includes remarks from senator bernie sanders and runs 35 minutes. >> please welcome senator bernie sanders. [applause] thank you. let me begin by telling you what you and the american people know , how a nation is politically divided.

nobody doubts that. but there is one issue that the american people, whether they are republicans quite democrats, or independence, their mac they are conservative or progressive, are united on. that is that we are sick and tired of paying by far the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. on average, we pay over three times as much as people of other major countries for brand-name prescription drugs and in some cases we are paying 10 or 20 times more than people around the world for the same product. meanwhile, we are getting ripped off.

10 top drug companies made over $110 million in profit last year and their ceos make tens of millions of dollars in compensation. the result of the high cost of prescription drugs is obvious. one out of four americans cannot afford to purchase the prescriptions their doctors right and some of them will die as a result. others get much sicker than they should and end up in emergency rooms or in hospitals at great cost to our already bloated health care system. further, the high cost of prescription drugs is not just an individual issue. it is a taxpayer issue. it affects all of us. it drives up the cost of

medicaid, medicare, and other public health programs as well as private insurance. the truth is that politicians have been talking about the high cost of prescription drugs for years, including me. i have been on this issue for probably 20 years, maybe more. the other truth is that, during that time, not much has happened . a lot of talk, but no real progress. the drug companies continue to go along their merry way and raise prices anytime they wanted come at any level that they wanted him up for any reason that they wanted. just do whatever they wanted. here is some good news.

despite the incredible wealth and political power of the pharmaceutical industry, they have over 1800 will pay lobbyists right here in d.c., despite all of that, the biden administration and democrats in congress are beginning to make some progress. what have we accomplished over the last several years? as a result of the inflation reduction act, not -- that not one single republican voted for, seniors with diabetes are paying no more than $35 a month for insulin they need. beginning next year -- that is right. god knows how many lives that alone will save. beginning next year, and this is

a very big deal, seniors will be paying no more than $2000 a year out-of-pocket for prescription drugs. we all know seniors who have chronic illnesses, more than one , and are running up huge prescription drug cast -- costs they cannot afford. further and importantly, pharmaceutical companies can no longer increase the price of prescription drugs above inflation for seniors without paying a substantial penalty. and, maybe most importantly, for the first time in american history, medicare is negotiating with the pharmaceutical industry to lower some of the most expensive prescription drugs in america.

we must confess this is not a novel idea. it is done in every other major country on earth, but finally we are catching up. the biden administration has taken exec of action to make sure when american taxpayer dollars help fund the develop into certain tests and vaccines to deal with public out the emergencies, pharmaceutical companies must charge reasonable prices for those products. and that is not all. in december, the biden administration proposed if a drug was made using taxpayer funds and is not reasonably of able to americans because of his exorbitant prices, the

government reserves the right to allow a low-cost manufacturer to sell the product for a fraction of the price. the president called this an important step toward ending big pharma price gouging, and he is right. i look forward to the biden administration and lamenting -- implementing this revision to reduce prescription drug prices. i am proud of the accomplishments of the senate committee on health education, which i happen to chair, to bring down the cost of prescription drugs. less than three months ago, the health committee launched an investigation into the outrageously high cost of inhalers that 25 million americans with asthma and 60

million americans with copd need to breathe. what we learned from that investigation is the american people were paying in many cases not 10 times more than people of other countries, not 50 times more, in some cases a times more for inhalers than people were paying in canada and europe. after talking to the ceos of the four major inhaler manufacturers, three of them have made a commitment to cap the cost of all of their brand name inhalers. the smallest of the four companies has not yet made that commitment, but we hope to hear from them in the near future. all of that means that within a

short time two of the three companies starting on june 1, the vast majority of americans will pay no more than $35 at the pharmacy counter for the inhalers they purchase. a vermont resident recently told my office she has to pay $320 a month for an inhaler. as a result of these decisions, she can save more than $3000 a year on the inhaler she needs to breathe. millions of others will see similar benefits. my impression is that these companies, as well as many others in the pharmaceutical industry, are beginning to catch

on to the fact that the american people are tired of being ripped off and paying astronomical prices for prescription drugs they need to stay alive ortiz pain. let me also take this moment to thank lena, the chair of the federal trade commission, for taking on the greed of the pharmaceutical industry. last november, the ftc challenged her drug company -- challenged drug companies and patents to keep low-cost generic drugs of the market including asthma inhalers. standing up to the drug companies, the ftc has helped deliver this major victory for the american people. and it is not just inhalers. last year, the ceo of moderna

committed that his company was set up a patient assistance program so no one in america would have to pay for vaccines out-of-pocket. in a separate hearing, the ceo of eli lilly committed that his company would not raise prices on existing insulin products after announcing substantial price cuts for these products. these efforts will improve life for millions of americans, present -- prevent unnecessary deaths, and save substantial sums of money for working-class families. but let us be clear. despite all we have accomplished up to now, it is not enough. much more needs to be done. in his state of the union address, president biden called on congress to pass legislation

to cap out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for all americans at no more than $2000 a year and to substantially increase the number of drugs that can be negotiated with the pharmaceutical industry. i strongly agree with him. and think of what that will mean to the people in our country, many of whom have chronic illnesses. no more than $2000 out-of-pocket. that is a significant step forward. as chairman of the health committee, i intend to push that legislation as aggressively as i can. in my view, we can no longer tolerate companies charging the american people a thousand dollars a month for ozempic, and

a drug that costs less than five dollars to manufacture, with the same product is sold in germany for $59. $1000 in america, $59 in germany. we can no longer tolerate charging americans with prostate cancer over $165,000 when the exact same product can be purchased for just $20,000 in japan. even more disturbing is the reality that over half the new drugs coming onto the market today cost $300,000, and a number of them cost over a million dollars. this is an issue we must get a handle on. working together, we can take on the greed of the pharmaceutical

industry and substantially lower the cost of prescription drugs in america. when we do that, we will be lowering the cost of health care in our country, which is double the cost of any other major nation on earth. i want to thank president biden for what he has done on this issue up until now and i look forward to working with the president as we go forward. i would now like to introduce to you chris garcia from colorado. even though mr. garcia has health insurance through his employer, he and his family cannot afford the outrageous price of his medications. mr. garcia has asthma and several bleeding disorders and relies on multiple inhalers and specialty drugs just to stay alive.

even with insurance, the co-pays for his inhalers and other medications total more than $450 per month. he has been paying $163 per month for just one inhaler and starting soon he will be able to get it for $35 a month. thank you, mr. garcia. >> my name is chris for garcia. i am 47 years old and work as an agent at the airport loading and unloading luggage and cargo and helping guide and park our aircraft. i am also a husband and father of four. if that is not enough to worry about, i was born with four bleeding disorders, several allergies, and chronic asthma. these medical conditions leave

me in a constant state of uncertainty and can spiral into a health and financial crisis at any time. the treatment i need just to stay alive cost $800 a month, even after my insurance coverage. i work four extra shifts a month to help offset the costs. even then, that is often not enough. i'm constantly forced to split my medications were decide which to forgo altogether because i sent the cannot afford them. every morning, i hope i have enough meds to make it through the day without a medical issue. i know millions of americans grapple with similar decisions when it is time to refill our prescriptions at the pharmacy counter. for too long, inhaler manufacturers have prioritized profit over patients, leaving people struggling to afford the medications they need to survive. i never imagined things could change, but president biden has shown us all they can. they thinks he hasthe things tho

cut health-care costs are saving the lives of so many americans, myself included. i cannot describe how grateful i am to know that we have a president who thinks every day about how to improve the quality of life for people like me. to know that we have a president who cares about giving me a chance to spend less time worrying about surviving and more time to spend time with my kids as they grow. now it is my great honor to introduce the president of the united states, joe biden. [applause] pres. biden: kris, thank you. thank you. iq for the courage you have shown over the years dealing with your health issues. also, of course, standing up here before the whole nation and

explaining to us what you have gone through. it's not easy to do. trying to afford expensive medications, from blood disorders to asthma, millions of americans have similar stories, lying in bed at night, staring at the ceiling wondering what in god's name will happen if their spouse gets cancer, a child gets sick, something happens to them, will they have enough insurance, will they have to sell the house to keep things moving? when you find out that the big reason we are lying awake at night with these questions is because drug companies charge exorbitant prescription drug prices, higher prices than anywhere in the world. bernie said it, i've been listening in the back, bernie, you and i have been fighting this for 25 years. finally, finally, we beat big pharma. finally. [applause] i'm serious. i'm proud, i'm proud of my

administration for taking on big pharma in the most significant ways ever. and they couldn't have done it without bernie. bernie got it, you know, he's the one who was leading the way for decades. he's why we are here today. he mentioned that americans pay more for prescription drugs than any other advanced nation in the world. if you walk into a local drugstore in america, prices are two times to three times more or the same prescription made by the same pharmaceutical company in canada, france, italy, even eastern europe, all around the world. not anymore. for years, people have talked about how medicare has the power to negotiate for lower drug prices, prescription drug prices, the government pays for, like the v.a. does when they negotiate medicines and needs for the veterans. but we have tried, tried, and tried. finally, with bernie's help, i

got my inflation reduction act passed. bernie helped to get it passed. not one republican in the congress. not one single republican voted for it. not one single one, to give us the authority to take on and beat big pharma. take insulin for people who have diabetes, it costs 10 bucks to make and if you had everything, the packaging, maybe $10 -- $12 total, you are charged as much as $400 a month. not anymore, not me more. seniors with it will only have to pay $35 a month, from this point on. by the way, when i first got the law passed, guess what? it applied to every american. every american. republicans wanted to cut back on the fact that they were -- the only thing they couldn't

defeat was the seniors. but i want those savings to be for every single person in america, no matter the age. no one should pay more than $35 a month for insulin. by the way, drug companies still make a significant profit. as i said, $10 to make -- by the way, the guy that invented the drug did not want to patent it because he wanted it available for everybody. well, it's available, all right. look, folks, there are a lot of prescription drugs undergoing the process on pricing. edit care is now able to negotiate lower prices for some of the costliest drugs treating everything from heart disease to arthritis. the law has already been passed, medicare negotiating for some of the costliest drugs. well above 50 drugs. next year it will be 15.

along with other reforms, its taxpayer money, recovering the federal deficit. people say it costs money. guess what? it costs the drug companies money. $160 billion, $160 billion. i'm serious. [applause] think about it. next 10 years, medicare will no longer have to pay those exorbitant prices. instead of paying 400 bucks, they are paying 35 bucks. but i think we should be more aggressive. time to negotiate lower prices. the law only requires 10, then it's 15, and it moves up. along with other actions, we are not only saving lives, but if we move the number up, we will save taxpayers another $200 billion, because medicare will not be paying these exorbitant costs.

it is a gigantic -- by the way, the other guy talks about cutting the deficit. he has increased at more than any other president in history. and we cut it -- look, in addition to the law that we passed that will cap prescription drug costs for seniors starting in 2025, that's already the law. i'm saying these things so that it can get done. it's already the law. your drugs will not costs you if you are a senior on medicare. you won't have to pay more than $2000 per year, no matter what the drug costs. as you know, some of the cancer drugs costs 10, 12, $15,000 per year. combined, they won't have to pay a penny beyond $2000 per year. [applause] and the drug companies will still make a lot of money. bernie and i want to cap

restriction goat -- cap prescription drug costs for every american, not just seniors. [applause] we are here today to talk about how we are lowering prices and cracking down on unfair competition for prescription drugs. i'm a capitalist. but capitalism without competition isn't capitalism, it's explication. when big pharma doesn't pay by the rules -- play by the rules, they cannot offer prices, prices that are fair, so they are raised artificially. i think bernie for leading the charge. asthma is one of the most common respiratory illnesses in america. 27 million have at some, including 4 million children. it causes about one million visits to hospital rooms every year. nationwide, the costs of treating it is estimated to be $50 billion per year to treat it. not the drug, treating it.

if you have asthma, you are likely to need an inhaler to breathe. the spring is here. allergies are upon us and are on the rise even more. more people with asthma meet inhalers to breathe. many of those medications may be on the market for more than 25 years and they costs less than five dollars to make. costs less than five dollars to make. but the medication, the medication hasn't changed at all. theoretically, they could invest a lot of money to find a better way. they could then argue another price. but drug companies have increased prices are asthma drugs up to eight times over the original costs. the mechanism attached to the inhaler, the thing that makes it, you know, go into your nose or mouth, that is a device that medicare hasn't changed much either.

look, these big companies try to keep generic companies away from getting patents on devices that liver the medicine through the inhalers. there are two pieces. not just what's in the inhaler. it's the mechanism that allows it to go into your body. they slightly changed the capital inhaler and use the new patent to block generic drug companies from entering the market. it's a big deal. big pharma is able to charge americans significantly higher prices to pad the profits. senator sanders pointed out that one company sells an inhaler for $49 and the united kingdom. you know how much they charge? $635 -- 600 -- $645.

think about that, for the same exact medicine and device. another sells an inhaler for $900 in germany, $286 -- nine dollars germany, $286 in the united states. same outfit, same device. 30 times more. it's outrageous. why, and god's name, should america pay fix hundred $45 for the same inhaler that is sold for $49 by the same outfit. bernie called out the drug companies during congressional hearings. you just heard from lena con, who is working with the food and drug administration to crack down on these drug companies and it's a big deal. as a result of all of this action, some have withdrawn abusive patent listings.

you know, the last few weeks some of the big drug companies have gotten the message to reduce the prices for some drugs and bernie is a big reason that has happened. three of the four largest companies are capping the costs of inhalers for many patients. that can be up to $600 out-of-pocket, 30 five dollars. debtors progress going on. but it is about time, and going forward, with more competition and urinary drugs in the market, the price could be less than it is coming down. that's not all. because of all of you, the inflation reduction act, drug companies raising more than inflation will pay back medicare the difference between what they charged and the inflation rate. this is based on the price of their drugs into thousand 21. meaning consumers will pay less for construed -- prescription drugs and it'll save taxpayers

money and discourage companies from hiking prices faster than inflation in the first place. i want to do more. it is time that drug companies pay rebates when they increase prices faster than inflation. not just for seniors, but for every single american. [applause] today's announcement follows the action taken to significantly reduce health care costs for average americans. we took action to significant reduce the costs of hearing aids by as much as $3000 for a pair of hearing aids. in addition, we are banning junk fees on health insurance plans, the plans that stick consumers with unexpected charges instead of covering the care that they need. i ended up with surprise medical bills. hospitals and network cannot send you a bill for a doctor that you haven't even consulted with.

i was in the hospital for a while, years ago, and that happened. kamala and i are protecting the american health care act, known as obamacare, which i might add is still a big deal. [applause] thank god my mother wasn't here. 9 million more than when i took office. exact tax credits, we enact them to save an average of $800 per person, per year, reducing health care premiums for millions of working families whose coverage, you have coverage under the affordable care act. these tax credits don't expire, you can only get them through this year. i'm calling on congress to make the tax credits permanent in this process. [applause] folks, all of our progress is in

stark contrast to my predecessor and maga republicans in congress. i love this what they say, they want to terminate the affordable care act. i love it. terminate. as my predecessor says, kicking millions of americans off their health insurance. by the way, the vast majority of these people would not be able to get insurance because they have a pre-existing condition. they want to eliminate the savings to lower prescription drug prices and so much more. during the last administration, my predecessor exploited -- exploded the national debt. when he talks about the debt, he exploded it more than any other president in his four-year term with his tax cut that overwhelmingly benefits the wealthy and the biggest corporations in america. now they want to cut social security, raise the age, and cut the care, cutting taxes for the

wealthy again. you know, i got a better idea. i'm going to protect social security, medicare, to make sure that the wealthy begin to pay their fair share to keep these programs solid. it's not hard. [applause] and let me repeat what i said, and like bernie said, some people didn't like it, and i didn't blame them. no one in america will pay a single penny more in federal taxes if they make less than $400,000 per year. i wish i was able to do that. bernie use to kid me about it, i was the poorest man in congress. good salary, but the poorest man in congress. trump rags about he's the reason roe v. wade was overturned. he said he did something no one

thought possible, i got rid of roe v. wade. now he and his maga officials are calling for a national ban on the right to choose in every state. i promise you that with a democratic congress, we will make roe v. wade the law of the land again. i promise you. [applause] i'm talking too long, here. let me close with this. [laughter] i'm excited, i'm proud of you have been able to do. i really am. bernie and i have been doing this for a long time. i know we don't look at, but we have some thing else in common, we are both weighing above our stations. $35 for insulin, $35 a month for inhalers for asthma. $2000 per year total cap on the costs for seniors. we are lowering the costs of some of those expensive

prescription drugs and what we want to do next, these caps, a caustic for everyone, not just seniors. with bernie's help we are showing -- showing how health care should be a right, not a privilege, in america. you have heard me say it in this room, i'm optimistic because the laws we got past are coming into effect. whether it is infrastructure or so much more. i said this yesterday, i have said it many times, then i will get out of your hair. we have to remember who we are. we are the united states of america. i remember -- i mean this from the bottom of my heart, there is nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together. we are the only nation in history that i can find that has come out of every crisis we have entered stronger than we went in every single time. let's remember, we are the united states of america. god bless you, may god protect

our troops. [applause] >> please welcome back to the stage senator bernie sanders. pres. biden: thank you all. the podium is yours. [applause] >> >> washington journal. our forum involving you to discuss the latest issues in government, politics, and public policy from washington, d.c. to across the country. thursday morning, infrastructure security expert and founding director of an institute at northeastern university stephen flynn talks about how to mitigate risk and build infrastructure resilience in the

aftermath of the key bridge collapse. and we talk about potential impact of third-party and independent candidates in the election this year and the call for multi-democracy in the u.s.. it the conversation live 7:00 eastern on c-span, c-span now, or c-span.org. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more, including comcast. >> you think this is just a community center? it is way more than that. >> comcast is partnering with 1000 community centers so students from low income families can get the tools the need to be ready for anything. >> comcast supports c-span as a public service, along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy.