00:00Senator Cortez Masto.
00:01Secretary Kennedy, thank you for being here.
00:05In May, you said, and I quote,
00:07I stand with President Trump to say,
00:09no more middlemen, no more foreign freeloaders,
00:12no more skyrocketing drug prices.
00:15We're putting American patients first
00:17and taking on Big Pharma to make America healthy again.
00:21Yet your record tells a different story.
00:23In July, Republicans handed Big Pharma a massive win.
00:27Their big, beautiful bill that they just passed
00:31shields billion-dollar drugs like Keytruda,
00:34the world's top-selling cancer drug from Medicare negotiation.
00:38Keytruda has been on the market since 2014.
00:41It pulled in nearly $18 billion last year in the United States alone.
00:47It costs patients up to $175,000 a year,
00:53draining Medicare of billions
00:54and forcing families into crushing debt
00:57or to forego life-saving care.
01:00And yet you support the big, beautiful bill.
01:03So despite the hype with executive orders
01:05and Washington Republicans' only drug pricing law
01:08days relieved for Medicare patients
01:10relying on high-cost cancer drugs,
01:13meanwhile, Democrats finally have allowed Medicare
01:16to negotiate drug prices.
01:17I will say that Keytruda, along with Obdiva and Darzilex,
01:26the three top-selling cancer drugs,
01:28were widely expected to be selected for Part B negotiation
01:31in 2026 for 2028 implementation.
01:35They are now, because of the actions of this administration,
01:39exempt from negotiation for at least several additional years,
01:42if not permanently.
01:44So my question to you, Mr. Secretary,
01:45how do you justify claiming to take on Big Pharma
01:48while supporting a bill that shields drugs
01:51like Keytruda and other cancer drugs
01:53from Medicare negotiation,
01:55costing seniors and taxpayers billions
01:57and risking the lives of cancer patients
01:59who cannot afford their necessary medication?
02:02Yeah, Senator, I appreciate the question.
02:06The Medicare drug negotiations
02:08in the IRA were very well-intentioned,
02:14but they were poorly structured,
02:15and what we found is that there are actually,
02:18the negotiations that have occurred
02:19actually have ended up raising the costs for Medicare.
02:25We are right now in negotiations...
02:27The CBO has not agreed to that.
02:28The CBO doesn't say that.
02:29It's just the opposite.
02:30So you're saying the CBO and independent agencies
02:32that validate the costs are wrong?
02:34Well, that is CMS data.
02:38Okay, so let's just focus on the cancer drugs.
02:41Why aren't we negotiating those
02:42and bringing those down for families?
02:43Why does the bill exempt those?
02:47It's part of the MFN negotiations.
02:49I'm not sure of that provision in the bill,
02:51of the one beautiful bill, but the...
02:52You're not sure of the provision,
02:53the negotiation provision,
02:55and how exempted cancer drugs?
02:56For Keytruda?
02:57Your agency is responsible for that negotiation,
03:00and you don't know about it?
03:01I know that we're negotiating in the MFN negotiations.
03:06Let me ask you this, Mr. Secretary.
03:07Let me ask you another question.
03:09How much are Medicare Part D enrollees expected
03:13to pay for prescription drug coverage next year?
03:23I think that that is in debate right now.
03:27Let me tell you.
03:28Are you talking about the rate?
03:29They're going to pay $15 more than last year,
03:32up to $50 a month.
03:33Now, let me have a question for you on Part B.
03:36How much are Medicare Part B premiums
03:38expected to increase next year?
03:43I don't know.
03:44I talked to Dr. Oz about it yesterday.
03:47I think it's 60%.
03:48It's about 11.6% or $21.50 more each month.
03:54And again, last time you were before me,
03:56you couldn't answer the questions of the very agency
03:59and the authority that you have to address these issues.
04:03You know, next year, seniors and families
04:05are facing higher health care costs across the board.
04:0823 million people on Medicare
04:10with a standalone Part D drug plan
04:12could see their premiums rise to $50 a month,
04:14up from $35 because the Trump administration
04:17is cutting the federal subsidy
04:19that has been keeping costs down.
04:21Part B premiums will jump 11.6%
04:24to $206 a month in 2026,
04:27one of the largest single-year increases in decades.
04:32And so for an administration
04:33that claims it is lowering costs,
04:35my question to you is,
04:36what are you going to do
04:38to keep costs down for seniors?
04:39I mean, I'm already doing what I...
04:43I'm already keeping costs down.
04:45What are you doing to keep costs down for seniors,
04:47knowing that these costs are going to be increasing?
04:49I mean, the program integrity bill,
04:52that is the first action that I did when I got in.
04:56It's one of the earliest actions in history
04:58of a complex regulation by an HHS secretary.
05:04A congressional budget office
05:05has said that that's brought premiums down by 5%.
05:08It's the Congressional Pledge of Office,
05:10which does not like to acknowledge anything that we do.
05:15And does that impact seniors?
05:16Excuse me?
05:17Does that impact seniors?
05:18And I know my time is running out.
05:19Does that impact seniors?
05:21What you just talked about,
05:22you're lowering costs.
05:22I'm asking you specifically...
05:24We're lowering costs.
05:24...helping seniors.
05:25Does it impact seniors?
05:27Does it impact...
05:29Come on.
05:30Let me just stop here.
05:31I didn't hear what you said.
05:32So I appreciate the chairman's indulgence here.
05:35My concern is,
05:36you can't answer the questions
05:37because the very agency has oversight over these issues
05:40and controls the levers
05:41to lower costs for seniors.
05:42And you can't answer that simple question.
05:44I didn't hear your question.
05:46Okay.
05:47Let's go.
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