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WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (D-MA-03), a Member of the Education and Labor Committee, voted to advance the Lower Drug Costs Now Act, H.R. 3. This legislation is an ambitious proposal to cut the cost of prescription drugs for all Americans. The final bill contained an amendment from Congresswoman Trahan to provide transparency and accountability regarding the Administration’s implementation of the “Fair Price Negotiation Program” under Title I – a critical portion of the bill.

“Every day, Americans are forced to choose between filling a prescription that could save their lives or paying the heating bill and buying groceries. Price gouging is so bad that 1 in 3 Americans report skipping doses due to cost, and millions more are slicing and dicing up their pills to stretch them out. Whenever I go home, I hear from constituents who are sinking in a system where seniors and patients routinely pay far more for the same drugs as in other countries,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “My father has MS and I see for myself the sacrifices that he and my mother make to pay for his treatment and care. It is time for Congress to step up and lower drug prices for hardworking families like the one I grew up in. I was proud to support of the Lower Drug Costs Now Act during committee today, and look forward to supporting this bill when it comes before the full House.”

Before committee passage, Congresswoman Trahan introduced, and the committee adopted by a voice vote, an amendment. The Trahan Amendment creates a statutory requirement for a study to be conducted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on the Administration’s implementation of the “Fair Price Negotiation Program” under Title. I. The Fair Price Negotiation Program is a central tenet of H.R. 3 that grants the Secretary of Health and Human Services the authority and tools necessary to meaningfully lower drug prices.

The GAO will have access to all necessary data to conduct its review and report to Congress by the end of 2025. This will ensure that there is no unfair manipulation or gaming of the Fair Price Negotiation Program by present as well as future Administrations.

According to preliminary analyses conducted by the Congressional Budget Office and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the proposal would save $345 billion for Medicare Part D, alone. It would also save $46 billion in health care costs for private employers, and $55 billion for American workers over the next 10 years.

The legislation:

• Empowers the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate drug prices on as many as possible of the 250 most costly drugs every year.
• Ensures that lower drug prices negotiated by the Secretary would be available to those with private insurance. This is particularly important for the more than 150 million Americans who are covered by employer-sponsored insurance.
• Stops drug companies from ripping off Americans by charging other countries less for the exact same drugs. H.R. 3 limits the maximum price manufacturers can charge for a negotiated drug to be in line with the average price in countries like the United States.
• Reverses and prevents unjustified price hikes by implementing an inflation rebate for Part B and D drugs. H.R. 3 will require drug manufacturers to provide a rebate to the American people for price increases for Part B and D drugs that exceed inflation, including increases that have occurred since 2016.
• Caps out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors by establishing a $2,000 out-of-pocket limit on prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Part D plans.
• Reinvests savings in improving health care for the American people. The savings achieved by H.R. 3 will be used to improve Medicare and will be reinvested in innovation and the search for new cures through NIH research.  

WATCH or DOWNLOAD: Congresswoman Lori Trahan speaking in support of H.R. 3, the Lower Drug Costs Now Act.

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