U.S. Senator Joni Ernst says not enough attention is being given to rising health care costs

Much of the legislation about health care which Congress has debated in recent years concerns health insurance.  On Tuesday in Decorah, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst from Iowa argued that health insurance is only half of the picture.  "Even when you have insurance, health care is very expensive," Ernst said in response to a question from Benji Nichols of Decorah.

Ernst points out that health care costs have skyrocketed in recent years.  She puts much of that blame on the costs charged by pharmaceutical companies for prescription drugs.  Ernst told the Decorah audience the companies are getting away with large price increases by taking steps to prevent the sale of generic drugs.

"We have to address the costs of health care," she said.  Ernst says members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on which she serves, passed four bipartisan bills recently which are aimed at closing loopholes used by the pharmaceutical companies.  "We are working together to move forward," she said, adding she's hopeful we'll begin to see some results.