Staff of Al Franken Stop in St. Cloud to Hear About Prescription Drug Costs

ST. CLOUD - Staff of Senator Al Franken were in St. Cloud on Tuesday morning to kick off a "prescription drug cost listening tour".

Staff listened to seniors about prescription drug costs at the Whitney Center. The meeting also informed seniors about resources available to help make medicine more affordable.

Marc Kimball is the communications director for Al Franken, he says prices for prescription drugs have gone up by double digits over several years.

"As Senator Franken has traveled across the state, he's heard a lot from folks who've been hurt by the skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs. Some are having to make a choice between affording prescriptions or necessities like food or gas for their cars."

Kimball says Franken recently introduced a bill to stop "pay for delay", where brand-name drug manufacturers pay generic drug makers to delay bringing in their cheaper drugs to the market.

"There's a variety of ways that we're trying to work on this. The tour is designed to hear stories that Senator Franken can share in Washington D.C. with his colleagues to bring prescription drug prices down."

Franken is a member of the Senate Health Committee and is also Co-Chair of the Senate Rural Health Caucus. His staff also made a stop in Brainerd on Tuesday. The tour continues Wednesday with a stop in Stillwater.