U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine celebrates committee passage of bipartisan legislation to lower drug costs

DELMARVA – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine is applauding the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee for passing the Pharmacy Benefit Manager Reform Act. Senator Kaine is a member of the committee and says it will help lower drug costs for people across the country.

The Reform Act includes the “Patient Right to Shop Act,” which prohibits gag clauses in pharmacy benefit manager contracts to ensure patients can access pricing tools to compare prices before paying for a prescription.

“I often hear from Virginians about how America’s health care system should be less complicated and more affordable—and I agree,” said Senator Kaine. “One crucial way to lower costs is to make drug prices more transparent so consumers can make informed decisions. I’m glad the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee passed our bipartisan legislation to allow Virginians to compare prices when they’re deciding where to pick up their prescriptions. I’m going to keep working to get this bill across the finish line, and to fight for other legislation to make health care more accessible and affordable.”

Kaine has also long authored and advocated for additional legislation that would bring more transparency to the health care system and lower drug costs, including by strengthening the pipeline and increase transparency for critical medicines and more efficiently ushering drugs to the market by making key improvements to the Food and Drug Administration’s review process for interchangeable biosimilars.