North Tidewater News

WASHINGTON – On July 26, House Democratic Health Committee leaders introduced new legislation to further lower prescription drug prices for American families and rein in pharmaceutical price gouging. The bill was introduced by Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA), Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), and Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard E. Neal (D-MA).

Nearly one year ago, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, granting the Secretary of Health and Human Services—for the first time—the authority to negotiate lower drug prices for America’s seniors. It was a historic achievement that lifted restrictions that had been in place for nearly 20 years preventing Medicare from negotiating drug prices. The law also further reduced drug prices for seniors by penalizing pharmaceutical companies that raised prices faster than the rate of inflation. The Lower Drug Costs for American Families Act builds on this important progress by ensuring more Americans can benefit from the law’s provisions.

“The skyrocketing cost of drugs is continuing to undermine the health and financial security of American consumers and taxpayers – who are routinely forced to pay far more for the same drugs as people in other countries,” Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Scott said. “Our economy bears the burden of high prescription drug costs. Employer-provided health plans spend billions of dollars every year to cover the cost of drugs. The American people have also made it clear that they want Congress to take action. This bill delivers on our promise to build upon the historic progress made by the Inflation Reduction Act and will allow us to further lower drug prices.”

“The Inflation Reduction Act finally granted Medicare the power to negotiate lower prescription drug prices for seniors, however, the fight is not over,” Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Pallone said. “The Lower Drug Costs for American Families Act will build on this progress by providing those same lower negotiated prices to all Americans who are covered by private health plans. It also protects consumers against unfair price hikes and increases the number of drugs Medicare can negotiate on each year, meaning lower prices on more drugs sooner. This bill is part of House Democrats’ ongoing efforts to lower health care and prescription drug costs for hardworking American families.”

“The Lower Drug Costs for American Families Act builds on our historic work in the Inflation Reduction Act to expand access to lower drug prices negotiated by Medicare to even more Americans,” Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Neal said. “This legislation is another step to bringing down the costs of prescription drugs and putting an end to the unconscionable decision to forgo life-saving medication. Lowering health care costs is key to finishing the job for the American people, and House Democrats won’t be deterred by Republican threats or Big Pharma’s lawsuits.”

The Lowering Drug Costs for American Families Act builds on the drug pricing provisions included in the Inflation Reduction Act last year. Specifically, the bill would:

• Extend the historic drug price negotiation program to all Americans with private coverage. This includes over 164 million workers and their families who get health coverage through their jobs and more than 16 million individuals with Marketplace coverage;
• Stop drug companies from raising prices faster than inflation by ensuring that the inflation rebates enacted under the Inflation Reduction Act also apply to individuals covered by private health plans. Extending the inflation rebates to privately-covered American workers can save as much as $40 billion over the next decade alone; and
• Strengthen the drug price negotiation program to deliver more savings to the American people by increasing the annual number of prescription drugs selected for negotiation from 20 to 50.

In 2019, Pallone, Neal, and Scott worked with then Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to introduce the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act (H.R. 3). The bill passed on the House Floor in December 2019 and later served as the blueprint for the drug pricing provisions included in the Inflation Reduction Act.

To read the bill text for the Lower Drug Costs for American Families Act of 2023, click here.

To read the fact sheet on the Lower Drug Costs for American Families Act of 2023, click here.

To read the section-by-section Lower Drug Costs for American Families of 2023, click here.

Original source can be found here.