Golden Joins AARP Tele-Town Hall to Answer Mainers’ Questions and Discuss his Work to Combat Rising Rx Drug Costs
Listen to the Tele-Town Hall here
WASHINGTON — Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) answered questions from Mainers and discussed his work to tackle high prescription drug costs in an AARP tele-town hall this week. The conversation focused on capping rising prescription drug prices and lowering health care costs. Golden heard from seniors in Hampden, Belfast, Orrington, Presque Isle, Madison, Sabattus, and Livermore.
"Today's tele-town hall allowed me to continue to have important conversations with my constituents, including many seniors, about the need to lower the cost of health care and prescription drugs in particular," said Golden. "I'll use what I learned today to push my colleagues in Congress to take serious action to attack high prescription drug prices and hold pharmaceutical companies accountable."
AARP callers spoke about their challenges affording life-saving prescription drugs and voiced their frustrations with the high costs for American patients. Callers were polled about whether they or someone they knew had ever chosen not to fill a prescription because of high costs. Nearly half said yes.
One Presque Isle resident, Gordon, spoke about the high cost of his insulin, saying his prescription was more than $200 cheaper just across the border in Canada, despite being made in the United States.
Among other actions to combat rising prescription drug prices, Golden has:
- Introduced the FLAT Prices Act, which would provide a long-term solution to big pharma companies unnecessarily spiking their prices on consumers by penalizing price increases greater than 10% over a one-year period, 18% in two years, or 25% in three years.
- Cosponsored the Safe and Affordable Drugs From Canada Act, which would allow Americans to import safe, more affordable drugs from Canada;
- Cosponsored the Lower Drug Costs Now Act, which would allow Medicare to negotiate lower Rx drug costs for Medicare patients and millions of additional families and children, put a cap on out-of-pocket prescription costs for Medicare beneficiaries, and take additional actions to lower drug costs;
This tele-town hall is just the latest public event Congressman Golden has participated in to hear directly from Mainers. Since taking office in January, Golden has held dozens of coffee hours, town halls, open houses, and other town meeting events in nearly every county in the Second District, visiting more than 90 Maine towns in the process.