Rep. Lamb: House Passes Bipartisan Bill to Lower Prescription Drug Prices

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 -- Rep. Conor Lamb, D-Pennsylvania, issued the following news release:

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019.

"Lowering the cost of prescription drugs is one of the most important things Congress can do to help people in western Pennsylvania," said Lamb. "No one should have to choose between taking lifesaving medicine and paying for food. Yet we know that seniors and families are faced with that decision every day because of the high cost of prescriptions. H.R. 3 will dramatically reduce drug costs, while also adding important vision, dental and hearing benefits to Medicare."

In Pennsylvania, there are 2.1 million people enrolled in a Medicare Part D plan and 7.4 million people enrolled in private health insurance--all of whom stand to benefit from the passage of H.R. 3. The legislation aims to lower prescription drug prices and improve Medicare for seniors and families across the country, including the creation of a $2,000 out-of-pocket limit on prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare Part D.

H.R. 3 also gives Medicare the power to negotiate directly with drug companies and make the lower prices negotiated by Medicare available to Americans with private insurance. It will also reinvest savings to expand Medicare's benefits to include dental, vision and hearing; assist innovation in the search for new cures and treatments by investing an additional $10 billion in NIH research; and help combat the opioid crisis.

Click here to learn more information about H.R. 3.