Can Congress pass a bill designed to reduce ‘Colossal and completely preventable waste’ of drugs?

Some drug companies knowingly sell expensive treatments in doses too large for individual needs. That results in wasted drugs and dollars. And it’s a problem that two lawmakers are trying to address after reading a report from ProPublica.

Consider eye drops: Whether it’s an expensive glaucoma treatment or an over-the-counter dry eye solution, every time a patient squirts a drop in the eye, a good amount of the liquid is lost, simply because the droplets are too large for an eye to handle. As we dab the excess, our tissue is absorbing hundreds of dollars of medicine that could be saved by a basic alteration of the bottle.

The same practice is used for cancer drugs and other medications leading to billions of dollars in wasted meds and bigger earnings for the drug companies.

Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, introduced legislation that would require the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to create solutions to stop waste.

“With the skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs, American taxpayers shouldn’t be footing the bill for the medicine going to waste,” Klobuchar said in a press release on the proposed Reducing Drug Waste Act of 2017.

Will the senators get the support they need? Time with tell. In the meantime, we want to hear your story. How often have you received too much medication and paid the price? Will the federal agencies be able to address the problem? Share your voice!