26 September 2019 House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health holds hearing on prescription drug price negotiation legislation On September 25, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health held a hearing entitled, "Making Prescription Drugs More Affordable: Legislation to Negotiate a Better Deal for Americans." The members discussed Medicare price negotiation legislation with a focus on a new piece of legislation spearheaded by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) — H.R. 3, the "Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019." H.R. 3 would empower the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate directly with drug manufacturers for the prices of certain drugs that lack competition, establishing an upper limit for the price reached in any negotiation at no more than 1.2 times that of six similar countries. The legislation would also establish a mandatory rebate for drug manufacturers of all covered Part B and D drugs that increase in prices faster than inflation and would cap out-of-pocket costs for Part D enrollees at $2,000 starting in plan year 2022, among other things.
Document ID: 2019-1705 | |||||||
