Washington, D.C. — Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3, the Lower Drug Costs Now Act. This landmark legislation to lower the cost of prescription drugs enables Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, extends these lower prices to consumers in the commercial market, and reinvests $358 billion of savings into strengthening the Medicare benefit package to include dental, vision, and hearing coverage. Neera Tanden, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, released the following statement on the bill’s passage:
We applaud the U.S. House for passing the most transformative legislation to lower drug prices in a generation and delivering on a major promise to the American people. This bill would produce significant savings for millions of Americans with chronic conditions such as diabetes, who, as our analysis shows, could save more than $700 a year.
In addition to lower drug costs and insurance premiums, by reinvesting the bill’s savings into strengthening Medicare’s benefit package, H.R. 3 would save seniors hundreds of dollars every year on traditionally uncovered out-of-pocket expenses.
With his opposition to H.R. 3, President Donald Trump has broken his promise to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices. This broken promise comes at a real cost to the financial well-being and health of the American people—and his refusal to stand up to Big Pharma speaks volumes about who he is fighting for.
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