Legislation To Prohibit ‘Gag Clauses’ On Medicines Heads To The House
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill announced today that her bipartisan legislation to crack down on pharmacy gag clauses that prohibit some pharmacists from telling customers that they could pay less for their prescription if they pay out of pocket unanimously passed the U.S. Senate.
"With skyrocketing prescription drug costs, it's ridiculous that pharmacists can be prohibited from telling customers when paying out of pocket would save them money on their medication," McCaskill said. "We still have work to do to bring down prescription drug costs, but this commonsense, bipartisan fix is a step in the right direction and will make a difference to Missourians struggling each month to afford their medication."
Many customers have no idea that they could pay less for their prescription if they pay out of pocket rather than using their insurance at the pharmacy counter, because pharmacists can be prohibited from telling their customers that a prescription to treat diabetes or high blood pressure may cost only $8 out of pocket instead of $20 through insurance coverage. One 2018 report found that customers overpaid for prescription drugs at the pharmacy counter 23% of the time.
The bipartisan Know the Lowest Price Act prohibits Medicare Part D Plans from restricting a pharmacy's ability to provide drug price information when there is a difference between the cost of the drug under the plan and the cost of the drug when purchased without insurance.
McCaskill, along with Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine and Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, led the push to prohibit this practice. The Senator's companion plan to prohibit this practice in insurance plans offered through the exchanges or by private employers cleared a key committee hurdle earlier this year.
McCaskill has made tackling rising healthcare and prescription drug costs a top priority in the Senate. Last month, she released an investigative report that showed that drug prices directly negotiated by the government could save the Medicare Part D program $2.8 billion in a single year on the 20 most commonly prescribed brand-name drugs alone. During her time as the top Democrat on the Senate Special Committee on Aging, McCaskill joined Republican Chairman Susan Collins to launch an in-depth investigation into prescription drug price increases, and last year, President Trump signed into law the Senators' bipartisan legislation to increase competition for generic drugs and help lower prescription costs.
Visit mccaskill.senate.gov/healthcare to learn more about McCaskill's fight to improve healthcare for Missourians.
Read this original document at: https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/news-releases/continuing-work-to-lower-rx-drug-costs-senate-unanimously-passes-mccaskills-bipartisan-bill-to-crack-down-on-pharmacy-gag-clauses
Vukmir Supports Lawsuit Against Pre-Existing Conditions Coverage
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News