Today, Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Vern Buchanan (FL-16) delivered the following remarks during a hearing on the health of the biosimilar market.

As prepared for delivery.

“Good morning and thank you to the witnesses for being here today to discuss an important matter that can lower costs for patients and provide more access to care: biosimilars.

“As we discussed in our first Subcommittee hearing of this Congress, our nation’s chronic disease epidemic is extremely costly to not only our health care system, but also our fellow American patients. 

“In fact, nearly 90 percent of our $4.5 trillion in health care costs can be tied to chronic disease.

“42 percent of Americans have two or more chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cancer or autoimmune diseases.

“We must continue to find ways to improve the health of our patients and our nation.

“Thankfully, we live in an era of innovation where researchers and manufacturers are developing new treatments and cures through complex biologic drugs. 

“From cutting-edge immunotherapy to personalized medicines such as cell and gene therapies, these drugs have improved millions of lives for patients with cancer, Alzheimer’s, and many other diseases.

“We are also able to bring these treatments to patients with lower cost options through “biosimilars”.

“Biosimilars are safe and effective versions of complex biological products that serve as lower cost alternatives to innovative brand name drugs. 

“Since entering the market in 2015, biosimilars have saved the entire health care system over $23.6 billion. Within the Medicare program specifically, biosimilars reduced Part B spending by $4.4 billion in just 2023 alone.

“Biosimilars launch at prices up to 35 percent lower than branded drugs and can drive even further savings when they compete with drugs already on the market. 

“This market-based competition lowers costs for all patients in all insurance markets.

“Biosimilars also help increase drug supply availability and have been used in nearly 700 million days of patient therapy.

“Still, there is more work to be done to ensure patients have robust access to biosimilars. 

“This ranges from making sure our drug reimbursement systems work correctly, to improving the education and awareness of biosimilars among patients and providers.

“Outdated reimbursement models in Medicare may disincentives providers to prescribe lower cost biosimilar products. 

“Additionally, PBMs have perverse incentives to favor high-cost, high-rebate drugs, many times at the expense of patients.

“We can also work to improve our education and awareness of biosimilars to patients and providers, who frequently report a lack of understanding of their true benefit. 

“Our health care system stands to save $181 billion over the next five years by reducing the barriers to biosimilar adoption and I hope this hearing can help accelerate that goal. 

“We are about to hear from a great group of folks who represent many aspects of the biosimilar market, including those involved firsthand in care delivery and those working behind the scenes to bring more biosimilars to market so that Americans have access to innovative and life-improving prescriptions. 

“I look forward to working with all of my colleagues this Congress to reduce the impact of the chronic disease epidemic by making innovative treatments more accessible and affordable through biosimilars.”