Congresswoman discussed how her bipartisan bill, signed into law by President Trump, will improve transparency and affordability around prescription drugs
Rochester, Mich. -- U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (MI-08) met with seniors and senior advocates this morning in Rochester to highlight her Real Time Benefits Act, which will let patients comparison-shop prescription drugs between different brands and at different pharmacy locations. The bill was signed into law by former President Donald Trump and will improve transparency and affordability around prescription drugs.
This morning's discussion at the Older Person's Commission in Oakland County was the first stop on Slotkin's 3-day "Cost of Care" Tour across Michigan's 8th District. She'll hold similar events with senior advocates and medical professionals in Livingston County on Wednesday and in Ingham County on Thursday.
Slotkin's legislation creates a tool that will enable doctors and patients to find the lowest-cost drug available by comparing alternatives and prices at different pharmacies. By increasing price transparency, the bill also encourages competition to help bring drug costs down across the board. (A mock-up of the tool is below)
"There's no other product we buy in our everyday lives where we don't know the cost right up until the moment we get to the checkout counter besides prescription drugs,"said Slotkin. "This is an issue folks have raised with me across the 8th District -- from Rochester to Howell to Lansing -- and our bipartisan Real Time Benefits Act is finally going to address it. When this law takes effect it will give patients a tool to compare drug costs between brands and pharmacies, helping folks make the best financial decision for themselves. This will be an important step forward in improving transparency and affordability when it comes to medicine, and it was great to be able to talk about it directly with seniors in Rochester this morning."
Watch a clip from Rep. Slotkin's event HERE.
Slotkin has been a co-sponsor of the Lower Drug Costs Now Act, which would allow the federal government to negotiate better drug prices for Medicare and make those negotiated prices available to commercial health insurance plans. The CBO estimates that drugs subject to negotiation would see price reductions of up to 55 percent. The bill would also cap Medicare beneficiaries' out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs at $2,000 per year.
She is also leading a bill to expand coverage for routine eye care for those on Medicare and pushed for another in the 116th Congress that would end the tax subsidies pharmaceutical companies currently receive for running direct-to-consumer advertising, like on television.
Original source can be found here.
