Support Legislation to Reduce Prescription Drug Prices - Passed House
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UPDATE (12/12/19): In a 230-190 vote, the House is has passed HR 3. The legislation now moves to the Senate for consideration.
Rising prescription drug costs continue to threaten U.S. residents’ physical and financial health, leaving millions of Americans unable to afford essential medications. Nevertheless, pharmaceutical companies have continued to increase prices on critical drugs like insulin. Despite Donald Trump’s vocal campaign promises to limit prescription spending, his administration’s proposed approach does nothing to curb pharmaceutical companies’ ability to set astronomical drug prices. Democrats in the House and Senate have introduced a number of bills designed to meaningfully decrease prescription costs, some of which have bipartisan support from Republicans. Specifically, the House has introduced HR 3: the Lower Drug Costs Now Act.
A few key provisions from these bills include:
- Accelerating the process to bring generic drugs to market
- Limiting consumers’ out-of-pocket spending
- Allowing consumers to buy lower-priced medications from Canada, in turn driving down prices for US drugs due to increased competition
- Allowing Medicare to negotiate directly with drug makers to increase transparency and lower prices
- Requiring brand name drugs to lower excessive prices or face direct competition from generic drugs
As these bills are introduced and considered, constituents must urge their representatives to support legislation to substantively control prescription drug costs.
