DES MOINES, IOWA (March 12, 2019) —
Transparency, Competition Key to Lower Drug Prices
By Mark Hahn March 12, 2019
Since announcing his decision to return to the helm of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Charles "Chuck" Grassley has been working tirelessly to fulfill a policy priority to improve “the affordability, quality, and accessibility of health care.”
Nowhere has this been more pronounced than his efforts to rein in out-of-control drug-prices and increase transparency and competition in an otherwise-murky marketplace. As Chairman, he has already organized a series of hearings on “Drug Pricing in America”, bringing forward patients, policy-experts, and industry-executives to examine ways to increase affordability of, and patient access to, life-saving prescription-drugs.
These hearings have demonstrated the commitment the Republican Senate majority has to make healthcare more affordable for the American public and are a strong complement to the efforts that the Trump administration has been undertaking to bring reform to America’s broken drug-pricing system.
The Administration should follow Senator Grassley’s lead in holding drug companies accountable for high prices.
Lowering the cost of healthcare won’t be easy, but it is possible. As Congress and the Administration work through drug-pricing reform, it is important that they keep a focus on these true drivers of cost while working to make healthcare more affordable for all Americans.
Mark Hahn is a Sioux City, Iowa-based radio host.
