House Committee Passes Bill to Lower the Cost of Prescription Drugs

DENVER, Colorado, April 24 -- The Colorado House Democrats issued the following news:

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- Democrats working to lower the cost of health care

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Rep. Sonya Jaquez Lewis' bill to reduce the price consumers pay for prescription medications passed in the House Health and Insurance committee. The bill will allow the wholesale importation of prescription pharmaceutical products from Canada for resale to Colorado pharmacies.

"As a pharmacist, I know there are many Coloradans who are having to choose between feeding their families or the life-saving drugs they depend on," said Rep. Jaquez Lewis, D-Boulder County. "We've seen drug price increases of nearly 500 percent that are drowning patients. The ability to import prescription drugs from Canada will help lower the cost of health care for struggling families."

Rep. Jaquez Lewis is a licensed pharmacist.

As amended in the Health and Insurance Committee, SB19-005 creates the "Colorado Wholesale Importation of Prescription Drugs Act" where the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing will apply for a waiver under Federal law to contract with a vendor to design and implement a program to import prescription pharmaceutical products from Canada for sale to Colorado pharmacies. The program design must ensure both drug safety and cost savings for Colorado consumers.

"The federal government is failing to help lower the cost of health care, this is a commonsense approach that can help Coloradans and cut the cost of medication," Rep. Jaquez Lewis added.

SB19-005 passed on a vote of 7-4. The bill now goes to the House Appropriations committee.