Test of truth: 13th congressional district candidates clash over prescription price cuts, insulin cost caps

Both congressional candidates in Illinois’ 13th District – Republican Regan Deering and Democrat Nikki Budzinski – say they support lowering prescription prices and capping the cost of insulin.

But they do not agree on a new federal law intended to achieve these goals. The deer opposes Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which President Biden signed in August. Budzinski supports him.

“What the law would allow is that the government and Medicare (can) specifically…negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to reduce the cost of prescription drugs,” Kevin Sylwesteracting director of the School of Analytics, Finance, and Economics at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, said.

The IRA also caps monthly insulin costs for beneficiaries of health insurance. In September, Budzinski said Congress should do the same for all American citizens, not just those on Medicare.

In a statement to the St. Louis television station KSDKComment, Deering said: “I support capping the cost of insulin and other life-saving drugs.” But she added that it should be in a “responsible, stand-alone bill”.

The Cut Inflation Act is controversial, in part because it is “the most aggressive climate investment ever made by Congress,” according to CNBC.

deer tweeted that Budzinski should “delete” a post describing his campaign as not supporting lower insulin prices.

Recently, Republican Senators, including Cynthia M. Lummis (Wyo.), Mike Lee (Utah), James Lankford (Okla.), and Marco Rubio (Florida), introduced a bill that would reverse the IRA provision, which allows Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug costs and limit annual drug expenses for Medicare beneficiaries to $2,000.

According to a Bloomberg reportUS citizens spend more on prescription drugs (the average cost is $1,300 per person per year) than anyone else in the world.

“It is true that prescription drug prices are lower in other countries. One of the reasons is that in other countries the government is more involved in health care. And then they have more power, more authority to set prices. And so they basically put price controls in place on most prescription drugs,” said SIU’s Kevin Sylwester.

Harrison Malkin is a reporter for Illinois Public Media. Follow him @HarrisonMalkin

Editor’s note: Every Thursday until the November general election, Harrison Malkin of the Illinois Newsroom conducts a truth test, comparing fact to fiction in political campaign claims.