McCaskill legislation designed to bring down cost of prescription drugs

(From Sen. Claire McCaskill)

For many Missourians, prescriptions are lifesavers—and no one should have to choose between filling critical prescriptions or buying their weekly groceries.

We have to work to bring down the cost of prescription drugs, which is why I teamed up with my longtime friend—Republican Senator Susan Collins from Maine—to pass legislation that would increase competition for generic drugs to help lower overall costs.

I'm thrilled to tell you that our bipartisan bill has passed the U.S. House and Senate, and now heads to the President's desk to be signed into law.

This is a big win for Missourians—and especially for seniors, who are disproportionately affected by skyrocketing prescription costs. Once signed by the President, our bill will:
Create a priority review timeline for qualified generic applications
Expedite the review and development of certain generics
Improve transparency and reporting requirements
Establish timelines for facility inspections

This bill is a direct result of the investigation I led with Senator Collins in the Senate Aging Committee, which has been the only bipartisan investigation into the causes, impacts, and potential solutions to the egregious price spikes consumers have seen in recent years.