Higher costs for seniors

President Trump is trying to make prescription drugs more expensive for seniors.

Nearly one million Coloradans rely on Medicare. Yet too many still struggle to afford the prescriptions they need. Nearly one in four seniors have trouble paying for their medications, and 7% skip or ration them because of the cost.

We live in the wealthiest country in the world. Our seniors shouldn’t be forced to ration their medications or choose between their prescriptions and making ends meet.

That’s why in 2022, we created a program that would cap how much prescription drug costs could increase to help seniors better afford their prescriptions. In that same law, we also capped the price of insulin at $35 a month for seniors.

Yet, just last week, the Trump administration announced it would end our program that lowers the cost of prescription drugs. They’ll force about half of the Americans who depend on the program to pay more for their meds.

Trump’s latest decision is beyond frustrating.

It isn’t an isolated decision either. It is the latest in a long series of disastrous decisions by the president that are increasing the cost of healthcare for everyone, including our seniors and children.

Last year, they gutted the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Medicaid all to help pay for lavish tax cuts for billionaires. As a result, tens of millions of Americans will be forced to pay more for their health insurance. Millions more are set to lose their insurance altogether.

These aren’t just numbers on a page. These are parents who are now deciding what they have to sacrifice to keep their kids’ insurance. They’re small business owners struggling to afford health coverage for themselves or their employees. They’re our friends and our family members.

Earlier this year, I met TJ who started his own businesses and has relied on the ACA tax credits to afford his healthcare. After Republicans gutted the ACA, he received a letter notifying him that his insurance would go up from $40 a month to nearly $550 a month!

None of this is what Americans voted for. Many of the people who voted for Trump believed his promises to lower prices.

As a member of the Senate committee overseeing healthcare, I’m going to keep fighting to protect Medicare and lower prescription drug costs so every senior – every American – can get the medicine they need.