Maine congressional delegation takes aim at high drug prices

WASHINGTON D.C. — As public frustration with rising prescription drug prices rises, Maine's four-member congressional delegation is rallying behind efforts to lower the cost.

"Skyrocketing drug prices are making it more and more difficult for Americans to access the treatments they require," U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, said recently.

"Year after year, Mainers get soaked by high drug prices. It's past time our country addressed this issue," said U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, a 2nd District Democrat.

There is a bipartisan willingness to tackle the problem, but whether politicians can get behind any particular bills to address it remains an open question.

Pointing out that yearly price hikes of as much as 40 percent have occurred for some of the most popular prescription drugs in Maine, Golden introduced a bill Wednesday to go after drug companies that raise their prices on a particular drug more than 10 percent in a year.

U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, a 1st District Democrat, is pushing legislation to allow Americans to purchase lower-cost prescriptions from Canadian pharmacies.

The state's two U.S. senators — Collins and independent Angus King — each back a bipartisan measure to combat anti-competitive practices used by some brand-name drug companies to block entry of lower-cost generic drugs.

It's not clear, though, that lawmakers will succeed in enacting anything that would make a serious dent in the high cost of prescription medication, an issue that consistently polls as one of the biggest worries for many Americans. A 2018 AARP survey, for instance, found that 92 percent of voters age 50 and older said candidates' views on lowering drug costs were important to them.

Collins, as chair of the Senate Aging Committee, has long used her position to focus attention on the cost of medications, a problem she calls "one of my top priorities."

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