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The last 20 years, the pharmaceutical industry has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on campaign contributions.
Drug prices have become a huge election issue here in the US and it's going to play really big until 2020, as they've soared massively. And insulin, which is what these diabetics need to keep them alive, is often ten times the price in the US than in Canada.
I mean, insulin should not cost this much. It really should not. It's something that people need to live with type one diabetes, and sometimes type two, but it's really important that we figure out a way to decrease the inflation price of insulin itself.
So I'm here today, because we're going to be going with Senator Sanders, who we're thrilled to have joining us to go on this caravan to Canada, to Windsor, to buy insulin, and really ultimately, raise awareness about the insulin crisis in America. Because one in four Americans are rationing their insulin, because they simply can't afford the cost.
At the end of the day, it is an embarrassment for those of us who are Americans. We love our Canadian neighbours and we thank them so much. But we should not have to come to Canada to get the medicine we need for our kids to stay alive. We could do that in America. But what we need is a Congress and a president who is going to take on the greed and corruption of the pharmaceutical industry. Is that right?
So we're back here in the same car park. And we've just been over to Canada and come back, with a lot of patients carrying a lot of bags full of insulin that will keep them alive for the next few months. Senator Sanders is not the only candidate who has a plan to import from Canada and change drug price policy, in order to try and get the costs down for patients like these.
Elizabeth Warren is looking even at generics manufacturing by the government. Many of the other Democratic candidates have policies and President Trump has a whole range of policies that may actually come into fruition before the election. But no one is sure and for people here, they have to go on with their lives. If that means crossing the border every few months to get insulin, that is what they'll do.
