Washington, DC — Today, House Democrats introduced a bill to build on the Inflation Reduction Act’s historic measures to lower prescription drug prices. The Lowering Drug Costs for American Families Act would increase the number of drugs subject to Medicare negotiation, extend inflation rebates to the private insurance market so drug prices don’t rise faster than inflation, and expand the savings from Medicare negotiation to Americans with private insurance, not just those covered by Medicare.
The new legislation comes as the Biden administration is working to implement the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare negotiation program. On September 1, the administration will release the first list of drugs for Medicare negotiations. While President Biden and Democrats in Congress are keeping up the fight to lower costs for American families, big drug companies and their Republicans allies are trying to move backwards by going to court and introducing legislation to stop Medicare from negotiating at all. The bill was introduced by Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard E. Neal (D-MA), and Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA).
In response, Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach issued the following statement:
“Once again, Democrats are tackling the issues that matter most to Americans worried about the high cost of health care. Americans pay up to four times more for the same drugs as people in other countries, forcing people to cut pills in half or skip doses altogether. The Inflation Reduction Act has been a remarkable step forward to rein in Big Pharma’s greed, cap drug costs for seniors, and finally give Medicare the power to negotiate lower prices. More than 80 percent of Americans support the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare negotiation program, making it one of the most popular policies in recent history. It’s time to expand these savings to even more families no matter where they get their insurance.”