Pallone Originally Authored Key Medicare Price Negotiation & ACA Expansion Provisions
WASHINGTON – Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) released the following statement today after the Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes key health care provisions that will lower the cost of health care and lifesaving prescription drugs for Americans:
“The Inflation Reduction Act is one of the most significant pieces of health care legislation to move through Congress in over a decade. It breaks Big Pharma’s monopoly on prescription drug prices. The bill will lower prescription drug costs for seniors by finally empowering Medicare to negotiate the cost of prescription drugs and capping the amount seniors pay at $2,000 annually. Nearly 20 years ago Republicans prevented the federal government from negotiating fair prices for seniors, and the Inflation Reduction Act reverses that egregious gift to Big Pharma, which will save seniors and Medicare money. This legislation finally levels the playing field and will help ensure seniors are no longer price gouged at the pharmacy counter. It also penalizes Big Pharma companies for unfairly hiking prices on seniors.
“The Inflation Reduction Act will dramatically lower the cost of monthly health insurance premiums for millions of Americans and provide families with the peace of mind that comes with knowing they have high-quality health care coverage. Five million Americans have gained access to health care coverage over the last two years thanks to Democrats’ efforts to make it more affordable, and I’m pleased that this legislation will extend those efforts for three more years.
“I’m incredibly proud of the health care provisions in this legislation, many of which were originally drafted and negotiated by me and other health committee leaders in the House and then the Senate. The House acted on this legislative package to reduce costs last November and I’m thrilled that the Senate has passed this transformative legislation. I look forward to supporting the Inflation Reduction Act in the coming days and seeing it signed into law soon.”
The Inflation Reduction Act includes a number of key provisions that were originally authored and introduced by Pallone and other health leaders in the House before being passed in the House of Representatives last November.
Lowering Prescription Drug Costs for Americans:
The Inflation Reduction Act will rein in the soaring cost of prescription drugs and cap out-of-pocket costs for millions of seniors. Many of the key provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act to lower prescription drug costs were first proposed by Pallone, Ways and Means Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA), and Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA) in H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, which was introduced in September 2019. The comprehensive bill empowered Medicare to negotiate the cost of prescription drugs and imposed an inflation rebate on pharmaceutical manufacturers that unfairly raised prices on consumers. H.R. 3 also capped seniors’ out-of-pocket costs on Medicare Part D prescription drugs at $2,000 annually. The House of Representatives passed H.R. 3 in December 2019, but the Senate did not act on the bill.
Expanding Affordable Care Act (ACA) & Lowering Health Care Costs:
The Inflation Reduction Act also makes health care more affordable for millions of Americans by extending through 2025 ACA affordability assistance first included in the American Rescue Plan last year. The landmark law provided financial assistance for more people by enhancing ACA Marketplace premium subsidies for lower-income and middle-income Americans for 2021 and 2022, including those with incomes above 400 percent of the federal poverty line. This ACA provision was first introduced by Chairmen Pallone, Neal, and Scott in March 2018.
Original source can be found here.
