"The Administration's proposal is a step in the right direction, and I commend the President for the announcement he made this morning. But, the fact is, the administration's proposal does not go far enough." said Senator Collins. "Legislative action is still needed to prevent brand-name drug companies from filing a multitude of patents that can be held, like the sword of Damocles, over the heads of generic competitors."
GAAP, which according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, would save consumers $60 billion over the next ten years, passed in the Senate July 31st by a 78-21 vote. The bill would close loopholes in current laws which are delaying competition and slowing the entry of generic drugs into the market.
Prescription drug spending in the United States has increased by 92 percent over the past five years to almost $120 billion. Those rising costs are a particular burden for the millions of uninsured Americans as well as for seniors on Medicare who lack prescription drug coverage.
"The proposal I wrote with Senators Edwards, McCain, and Schumer, would be more effective in speeding up generic drugs to market at affordable prices to consumers who depend on those drugs. It's wrong that many individuals are priced out of the market, or are forced to choose between paying the bills or buying the pills to keep them healthy."
GAAP has been endorsed by several State Attorneys General, over two dozen individual organizations and corporations and coalitions of governors, major employers, insurers and other purchasers of prescriptions drugs.