WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) today introduced the Fair Prescription Drug Prices for Americans Act, bipartisan legislation to lower drug prices for Americans. The Senators’ bill would offer relief for millions of patients by prohibiting pharmaceutical companies from selling drugs in the United States at higher prices than an international average, ending the practice of forcing Americans to pay the world’s highest prices for medications.
“No one should ever be forced to choose between paying for the prescriptions they need or putting food on the table. But Big Pharma’s price gouging has made that a reality for many Americans, forcing them to pay four or five times more for the same lifesaving medications as folks in other countries—it’s unacceptable,” said Senator Welch. “In his first term, President Trump pursued a most-favored nation policy to level the playing field for American patients. This bipartisan bill offers his administration a template to work with Congress to make that goal a reality. We have an obligation to ensure folks in Vermont, Missouri, and across the country get the best possible price for their prescription drugs.”
“For too long, Americans have subsidized prescription drug costs for foreigners while paying outrageous prices for their own medications,” said Senator Hawley. “President Trump previously advanced major reforms to ensure that American patients pay the same prices as consumers abroad. This bipartisan legislation would continue that work to end a drug market that favors Big Pharma, make prescriptions affordable again, and empower Americans to get the care they need.”
The Fair Prescription Drug Prices for Americans Act would correct decades of policies that benefited pharmaceutical companies but left American patients holding the bag. While other developed nations pay reasonable prices for prescription drugs, Americans pay substantially higher prices for the same medications. In his first term, President Trump pursued “international price index” and “most favored nation” policies on drugs covered by Medicare to end these practices.
The bill would also impose stiff civil monetary penalties on pharmaceutical companies that violate this rule. Specifically, the penalty would equal ten times the difference between the U.S. list price and the average price of the drug sold in Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Penalties would be calculated and charged for each unit of drug or biological product sold at an inflated price.
Read and download the full text of the Fair Prescription Drug Prices for Americans Act.