Friends -

I’m writing to you today to discuss the urgent need to lower prescription drug prices in this country, and to ask you to join me in working to immediately address this ever-growing problem in our broken health care system.

I’ll explain further in just a moment, but if you’re ready to sign on now, please add your name to my petition: We must lower the high cost of prescription drugs and hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable for their decades of abuse and exploitation.

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For too long, Congress has allowed large pharmaceutical companies to gouge the sickest and most vulnerable people in our society as a way to drive up their own executive salaries and protect their companies’ billions in unfettered profits. This must end now.

No one in the wealthiest country in the world should be forced to go broke because they received necessary medical treatment with a life-saving drug, or worse, go without treatment because they simply cannot afford it.

For decades, in the name of boosting corporate profits, pharma giants manipulated the prescription drug market, exploited the U.S. patent system, abused government programs like Medicare and Medicaid, and harmed Americans by forcing them into bankruptcy through their unethical business practices.

I worked closely with the late Rep. Elijah Cummings, prior to his passing, to introduce legislation that would dramatically lower drug prices while saving Medicare hundreds of billions of dollars. We partnered on this effort for more than a decade, even meeting with former President Trump in 2017 to try and build bipartisan support around the issue.

Last month, I called out Biogen CEO Michel Vounatsos, for listing their recently-approved Alzheimer’s medication Aduhelm at an exorbitant $56,000 per year price tag — a cost that would jeopardize the financial stability of the Medicare program and put it out of reach for millions of patients. The simple fact is that life-saving drugs like Aduhelm and insulin aren't helpful if Americans can’t afford them.

The pharmaceutical industry isn’t going to stop on their own. This is what they do — continue to raise the price of medications because they can. Congress needs to step in and pass legislation that lowers prescription drug prices across the board now. I am fighting every day to do that.

Now is our best chance to finally get real reform across the finish line. We’ve elected Democrats across the country who have run on this issue and won — but we have more work to do to take the power away from Big Pharma. That’s why I’m asking you today:

Add your name to my petition if you agree we must lower the cost of prescription drugs in this country. For far too long, the pharmaceutical industry has gotten away with their abusive pricing power at the expense of the American people, and it’s time for that to end.

As we gear up for the many fights ahead, I’m confident we can make health care more affordable and provide critically-needed relief to millions of Americans across the country. We can save lives, and save billions of dollars at the same time — as long as we stay in this fight together.

Thank you in advance for adding your name in support of this important issue.

All my best,

Peter Welch

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