US House Rep Susan Davis' office issued the following:
Washington, October 17, 2019
As a senior member of the House Committee on Education and
Labor, Congresswoman Susan Davis voted to send the Lower Drug Costs Now
Act (H.R. 3) to the full House.
“My constituents share their stories with me every single
day about the high prices they pay for their prescription drugs,” said
Rep. Davis. “Empowering the federal government to negotiate lower drug
prices is essential in saving money for the American people. We should
not have drug companies making prices so high that even with government
assistance they are still unaffordable.”
During committee consideration of H.R 3, Davis relayed the
stories of two constituents facing high prescription drug costs: A
father who struggles to pay for his daughter’s cystic fibrosis
medication and a 68-year-old man with COPD paying over $400 for a
month’s supply of drugs to treat his condition. If he were in Canada,
the cost would be about $100.
The Congressional Budget Office and the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services both report that H.R. 3 would save $345
billion for Medicare Part D, Medicare’s prescription drug plan. It would
also save $46 billion in health care costs for private employers and
$55 billion for the American people over the next 10 years.
The Lower Drug Costs Now Act (H.R. 3):
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Allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate drug prices on the 250 costliest drugs every year.
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Ensures these reduced drug prices would also be available to people with private insurance, which is critical to the more than 150 million Americans who get their health insurance through their employer.
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Caps out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors at $2,000 on prescription drugs for Medicare recipients enrolled in Part D.
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Prohibits drug companies from charging other countries less for the same drug.
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Invests the savings on prescription drugs in the National Institutes of Health for innovation and research into new drugs.
The committee passed the bill on a party line vote of 27-21.
