PORTLAND, Ore. — U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, says he’s working to lower the cost of prescription drugs and on Monday, he held a roundtable discussing how prices have affected Oregonians.
Meals on Wheels hosted the meeting.
Merkley was joined by medical professionals and people who say they can’t afford their medications.
Numbers from the Oregon AARP say the median income for people on Medicaid is $26,000 and many of them take multiple prescription drugs a day.
“It’s outrageous that we in America pay a much higher price for drugs than folks in any other developed country,” he said.
Data from AARP shows that generic drug prices have gone down about 15 percent since 2014.
Merkley recently introduced legislation to end price gouging. The bill will be sent to committee when the legislative session begins again.
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