Getting the health care you need can be expensive in this country.
From hospital overbilling to sky-high insurance premiums and drug prices, there are a variety of factors that are driving up the price of staying healthy. These price increases hurt millions of Americans every single day.
For years now, hospitals have been raising prices, blaming inflation and the skyrocketing costs of care and drugs for the hefty bills their patients receive for both inpatient and outpatient treatment. The overcharging isn’t even consistent across the country, with hospitals charging patients vastly different prices for the same procedures and tests, with the deciding factor being a patient’s insurance coverage. Those insurance premiums are another major driver here. Many people with private coverage state that high insurance costs have prevented them from seeking needed medical care or forced them to make dangerous financial decisions. Similarly, many drug prices are still too high, and they definitely contribute to the rising price of health care.
However, it’s worth noting where we’ve had success — specifically, drug prices. Remarkably, we’ve had some major victories by working with the pharmaceutical industry recently, and, because this is a fight, it’s worth celebrating victories when we get them.
Through hard work at both the federal and state level, we have increased the coverage for prescription drugs in the U.S. to more than 93% of the population. That is significant. This means more people can afford the lifesaving and life-improving medications they need. More Americans today have to cover lower costs out of pocket for their medications than they did previously. That’s one victory.
Additionally, thanks to the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, the price of insulin for everyone on Medicare is capped at $35. Just $35 for whatever insulin product you and your family needs. Another huge victory for patients. And, in the coming years, we’ll be fighting to bring that same price caps to other life-saving medications. Soon, Medicare will be able to negotiate the prices for the top 100 most expensive medications. We’ll be fighting to put that same $35 cap on every drug we can. This won’t happen overnight, but we are making true progress toward affordable prescription drugs.
After our victory with insulin, the pharmaceutical industry has begun to embrace common-sense proposals to make medications more affordable. Drug companies are coming to the table and doing the hard work with lawmakers and regulators to find ways to bring prices down while encouraging research & development, innovation and domestic supply chains. We will keep pursuing real solutions for all this, to bring prices down more — and we will get it done, in collaboration with industry partners who are ready and willing to work with us.
As we’ve seen with the pharmaceutical industry, hospitals and insurance companies can do much more to bring down health care costs for patients. Taking action in these two issues alone could have an immediate impact on improving outcomes for patients and reducing the hit to their pocketbook. We must keep working with these partners, along with the drug companies, and remind them that the status quo — with a nation struggling under medical debt — isn’t acceptable.
So, let’s celebrate our wins when we get them, and let’s focus our efforts on continuing to fight for lower health care prices across the board. We’ve made huge progress already, and we can do more. Let’s do it.
Cleopatra Tucker (D-Newark) is an assemblywoman representing the 28th Legislative District.
