Washington, DC
Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means Richard E. Neal commended the House of Representatives for its passage of H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act.
The Lower Drug Costs Now Act will deliver life-changing savings for patients, employers, and taxpayers. Medicare will have the power to negotiate lower drug prices and make those prices available to people with private insurance. No longer will Americans have to pay more for their prescriptions than what people are charged in other countries for the same medicine.
“After years of congressional inaction, we’re moving legislation to lower drug prices and save American families money,” said Chairman Neal. “H.R. 3 levels the playing field for U.S. consumers who, on average, pay four times more than patients in other countries for the exact same drugs. In addition to allowing the HHS Secretary to negotiate lower prescription prices, our legislation caps Medicare beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs at $2,000. Thanks to this cap and lower, negotiated drug prices, more people will be able to afford the drugs they need that they may have previously forgone due to high costs. With more Americans taking the medicines they’re prescribed, families will be healthier, and premiums will go down.”
The $1.5 trillion that the federal government will be saving from lowering drug prices will be reinvested to expand Medicare to cover vision, dental, and hearing for the first time. This bill also includes provisions to address maternal mortality and morbidity, and for increasing federal support for the Health Profession Opportunity Grant program, which provides meaningful career pathways for low-income people while also addressing the health care worker shortage.
“I am immensely proud of the groundbreaking health care innovation that takes place in the United States, particularly in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” continued Neal. “It has led to treatments for numerous diseases and adds to local and regional economies. But what is the point of innovation if no one can afford it? Today, we moved closer to bringing breakthrough drugs within reach for the Americans who need them.”
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