US Senator Cory Booker unveils ambitious proposal to tackle drug affordability

US Senator Cory Booker (Democrat, New Jersey) on Friday announced legislation to systemically change the way prescription drugs are priced in order to reduce drug costs for Americans and increase access to the medications they need, with Senators Bernie Sanders (Independent, Vermont) and Kamala Harris (Democrat, California) joining him as original co-sponsors.

The Prescription Drug Affordability and Access Act would create an independent agency - the Bureau of Prescription Drug Affordability and Access - tasked with conducting reviews of drug prices and determining an appropriate list price. If companies don’t comply with the Bureau-reviewed list price, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) would allow other entities to produce the drug, thereby voiding the companies’ government-granted exclusivity and ensuring patients have access to the drug at a lower and more reasonable price determined by the Bureau.

The Bureau is modeled after Canada’s Patented Medicine Prices Review Board, which determines if a drug is excessively priced, including by comparing the price of the drug to that in comparable countries. This entity helps keep prescription drug prices in check. In 2017, Canada would have paid 236% more for patented medicines had they purchased them at US prices. Beginning next year, Canada will no longer include the USA in its reference list because of its high drug prices.