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Seniors call for prescription drug price reforms. King says he has a bill to address it

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U.S. Sen. Angus King today received a petition signed by 31,000 AARP members calling for prescription drug price reforms to help seniors afford the life saving drugs they need. Medicare spends billions of dollars on prescription drugs every year, three times more than other nations, according to AARP.

Amidst rising inflation for food, heat, and gas, seniors say they sometimes have to make tough choices on what to spend their limited incomes on. At a press conference in Portland, King said Medicare is unable to negotiate volume discounts on prescription drugs because of a flawed law passed in the early 2000's.

"Congress specifically wrote a provision into the law that said Medicare could not negotiate bulk discounts...that's outrageous.....for taxpayers and for seniors who need these drugs to preserve their lives," King said.

King said he has a bill in Congress that would allow Medicare to negotiate for volume discounts for prescription drugs and also cap insulin prices. He said he hopes to see the measure on the Senate floor in a matter of weeks.