April O'Neil / news@WHMI.com

U.S. Representative Elissa Slotkin is hosting a roundtable discussion Friday morning in Brighton with U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra. The discussion will include recent efforts to lower the cost of prescription drugs.

The closed-door conversations will convene hospital leaders, community advocates, and health professionals to discuss drug shortages, maternal health disparities, and other healthcare obstacles that Slotkin and Becerra are working to address at the federal level.

Following those meetings, the two will participate in a press conference focused on ways the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is lowering prescription drug costs for patients.

The exact location of the press conference and roundtable discussion in Brighton has not yet been disclosed.

Last month, Slotkin introduced legislation to expand the supply of critical drugs during shortages.

Slotkin has been a longtime advocate for strengthening supply chains for critical pharmaceuticals. She co-founded the Domestic Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Caucus, a working group in Congress focused on restoring America’s drug manufacturing industry in order to head off potential supply chain disruptions.

In December 2022, her Strengthening America’s Strategic National Stockpile Act, which would make improvements to America’s Strategic National Stockpile of medical supplies, was passed by Congress and signed into law.

Slotkin’s Real Time Benefits Act, signed into law by former President Trump, went into effect earlier this year and enables people to compare drug prices at the pharmacy counter so they can be sure they’re getting the best deal.