Health care is expensive. For a great many Americans — even those with good insurance — finding the money to pay for the care and medicines they and family members require is a huge worry. Many people have insurance, but as costs have gone up they are discovering that the copays and deductibles they face are a burden that is substantial and getting more daunting.

U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley has been a strong voice in Congress for an array of legislation designed to help keep the cost of health care as low as possible. The Iowa Republican is especially concerned about the escalation in the prices consumers must pay for prescription drugs. In his visits with constituents all across the Hawkeye State he has learned that many Iowans are especially worried about how expensive prescription medicines have become.

That’s why Grassley has joined with U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., to champion the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act. This bipartisan measure is designed to bring drug prices down. Grassley is a strong believer that more price competition in the drug industry will benefit the public by making high price tags for prescription medicines harder for companies to sustain.

In his State of the Union Address, President Donald Trump called on Congress to enact promptly legislation that will make prescription drugs more affordable. He singled out Grassley’s important leadership on this issue. That support was welcomed by the senator.

“Iowans and Americans across the country are demanding reforms that lower sky-high drug costs,” Grassley said in response to the president’s challenge to Congress. “A recent poll showed 70 percent of Americans want Congress to make lowering drug prices its top priority. … The Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act is the only significant, bipartisan legislation in Congress that has been endorsed by President Trump.”

This important legislation also has the endorsement of a broad spectrum of interest groups including such diverse entities as AARP and the libertarian CATO think tank.

The priorities the president discussed in his comments regarding prescription drugs are all addressed in the bill he and Wyden have written, according to Grassley. Americans need relief from escalating expenditures on prescription drugs. It’s time for Congress to enact a solution.

The Messenger commends Grassley for his unrelenting hard work to make health care more affordable for Americans. We urge both houses of Congress to join with him and Wyden to make the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act the law of the land. It is an excellent example of bipartisan collaboration to benefit the entire nation. We hope it will prove a catalyst and inspiration for even more cooperation across party lines in the months and years ahead.