AARP Hearing Center
![U S Captiol Dome U S Captiol Dome](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarpe/en/home/politics-society/government-elections/info-2019/congress-hearing-high-drug-prices/_jcr_content/root/container_main/container_body_main/container_body1/container_body_cf/container_image/articlecontentfragment/cfimage.coreimg.50.932.jpeg/content/dam/aarp/politics/advocacy/2019/09/1140-captiol-dome-congress.jpg)
In the few months that he's been on Medicare, Robert Fowler has discovered that he's going to have to pay $12,500 a year to continue to take Revlimid, a drug he needs for his incurable blood cancer. The Ohioan came to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to ask Congress for some help.
"You do not have the power to take away my cancer,” Fowler, a recently retired religious studies professor, told the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Health. “But you do have the power to make my prescription more affordable."
![member card Image Alt Attribute](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/experience-fragments/uxdia-folder-structure/en/features/membership/inline-membership-promo/default/master5/_jcr_content/root/responsivegrid/container_copy/container/articleimage.coreimg.75.1140.png/content/dam/uxdia/membership-card-d-and-t.png)
LIMITED TIME OFFER: Labor Day Sale!
Join AARP for just $9 per year with a 5-year membership and get a FREE Gift!
The subcommittee hearing mainly focused on HR 3, the Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019, which was introduced in the House last week. The measure would for the first time allow the secretary of health and human services to each year negotiate the price of at least 25 of the most expensive brand-name drugs that have no competition. The measure would also cap out-of-pocket drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries at $2,000 a year.
![A A R P representatives sitting in the audience waiting for a hearing in Congress to start A A R P representatives sitting in the audience waiting for a hearing in Congress to start](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarpe/en/home/politics-society/government-elections/info-2019/congress-hearing-high-drug-prices/_jcr_content/root/container_main/container_body_main/container_body1/container_body_cf/body_one_cf_one/par3/body_one_callout_one/cfimage.coreimg.50.932.jpeg/content/dam/aarp/politics/advocacy/2019/09/1140-aarp-workers-congress-hearing.jpg)
Fowler said the retail price of his cancer drug is nearly $200,000 a year. When he was a university professor, his private health plan paid virtually the entire cost of Revlimid for more than a decade. But, he said, someone was paying that bill. “I was paying out pennies, but really my colleagues were picking up” the rest of the cost in higher premiums.
"Today millions of Americans are fighting two battles: one, their illness — a condition that they may have — and the cost of prescription drugs to address it,” said Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), chair of the subcommittee. “I think our constituents deserve a much better deal."
AARP launched its Stop Rx Greed campaign this year to convince federal and state lawmakers to pass measures that would lower the cost of medicines like the one Fowler takes. AARP officials and volunteers attended Wednesday's hearing to voice their support for congressional action.
More on politics-society
More States Win Prescription Drug Protections
Illinois, Massachusetts, Ohio advance Rx fixesAdministration Plan Paves Way for Safely Importing Prescription Drugs
Consumers could get access to lower-priced medicines from abroad