Our senators need to push down on rapidly rising drug prices

Keeping up with rising prescription drug prices is becoming a struggle for families across Arizona.

Big Pharma has continued price gouging through the pandemic, raising prices on more than 800 drugs in January of 2021 alone.

The exorbitant increases in list prices of prescription drugs are not only holding back patients from affording lifesaving medication, but also impacting business growth in communities such as Scottsdale.

In a recent survey, more than a third of American small businesses said they delayed hiring new workers due to sharp rises in prescription medication and health care costs driven by out-of-control drug prices.

Furthermore, one in three small business owners providing benefits to employees have been forced to consider dropping health coverage due to drug price increases.

This isn’t sustainable.

Senators Sinema and Kelly need to deliver on campaign promises and pass solutions to provide relief at the pharmacy counter for seniors, crack down on price increases that exceed the rate of inflation and hold Big Pharma accountable by giving drug companies a sizeable share of the cost when patients are pushed into the catastrophic phase of coverage.

Robert Dwyer, Scottsdale