From Families USA (http://www.familiesusa.org):
This week the U.S. House of Representatives took a step forward for families across the nation by passing H.R. 987, the Strengthening Health Care and Lowering Prescription Drug Costs Act.
In last fall’s election, families across the nation made it clear that they want Congress to focus on protecting access to high-quality health coverage and lowering health care costs. This bill represents the first major legislation to pass the House in 2019 that takes steps towards these goals.
H.R. 987 is comprised of several proposals that would improve health coverage, protect people with preexisting conditions, and lower prescription drug costs by bringing generic drugs to market faster. Specifically, if enacted, it would:
- Rescind the Administration rule that has allowed junk short-term plans to flourish;
- Provide $100 million annually for the federal marketplace Navigator program and reinstate standards to ensure the quality of the program. These efforts restore cutbacks to the program made by the Administration;
- Restore outreach and marketing funding, which has been slashed by the Administration, to ensure consumers are informed about their options for affordable health care;
- Provide states funding to establish their own marketplaces;
- Establish a process for generic drug manufacturers to obtain sufficient brand-name drug samples for testing. This will help prevent brand-name drug manufacturers from gaming the system to delay or impede generic drug entry (the CREATES Act); and
- Make it illegal for brand-name drug manufacturers to pay generic manufacturers to keep a generic drug off the market (banning so-called “pay for delay” agreements).
H.R. 987’s House passage follows passage of legislation in the House to undo the Administration’s harmful guidance on 1332 waivers, which would allow states to circumvent important insurance consumer protections.
The Strengthening Health Care and Lowering Prescription Drug Costs Act represents a meaningful, positive step towards better coverage and lower health care costs. We hope it is a precursor to additional legislation that reduces insurance premiums, both for low-income families and those that are not eligible for tax credits. We also urge the House to consider and pass additional legislation allowing Medicare to negotiate with drug manufacturers to bring down the cost of prescription drugs.
The passage of H.R. 987 in the House of Representatives is an important step forward for improving health care and lowering costs for consumers. Now it is time for the Senate to pass this important legislation.
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