Medicare must be allowed to negotiate directly with manufacturers on prescription drug prices to get the best deal for patients and the federal government. As the largest purchaser of prescription drugs in the country—with 43 million seniors and people with disabilities accessing prescription drug coverage through Part D—Medicare should be able to leverage its purchasing power with pharmaceutical companies to get lower prices.

Key steps to lowering drug prices include:

• Allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, we support:
• Lowering list prices for prescription drugs;
• Increasing competition in the generic and biosimilar industry;
• Eliminating anticompetitive behaviors by some brand-name manufacturers that block or delay competition;
• Testing new reimbursement models that promote value, like outcomes-based purchasing;
• Investing in comparative effectiveness research and its dissemination to understand the value of individual prescription drugs; and
• Allowing states responsible flexibility to test innovative models for purchasing prescription drugs.

With 90 percent of America concerned about the high cost of prescription drugs, we must keep pressure on our elected officials to act in the nation’s interest through sustained and effective engagement.