U.S. House passes bill to cut drug prices
Bill would cap Medicare costs, but moves to Senate’s ‘legislative graveyard’
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were top supporters of the drug bill. (One Illinois/Ted Cox)
By Ted Cox
U.S. House Democrats took action on prescription-drug prices that are “out of control” Thursday, passing a bill that would rein in costs by capping out-of-pocket Medicare spending and allowing the government to negotiate prices for up to 250 drugs a year.
The bill passed by a party-line vote of 230-192. No Democrats voted against the bill. Two Republican representatives voted in favor, but the five Illinois Republicans in the state’s congressional delegation all voted against.
“For the mother fighting to afford her diabetic daughter’s insulin, to the senior living on a fixed income who is struggling to afford his medication, I am proud to support this bill to bring some relief to hardworking Illinois families and seniors,” said U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos of Moline. “This bold action would help lower the costs of health care and prescription drugs and put money back in people’s pockets. That’s why the Senate must immediately act to lift this unfair burden for the American people.”
The bill, however, moves on to the U.S. Senate and what’s been called a “legislative graveyard” overseen by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. President Trump has attacked “do-nothing Democrats,” but as U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pointed out in a letter to Democratic colleagues last month “there are scores of critical bills sitting on his desk sent to him by the House Democratic majority.” She specifically cited a gun-control bill for background checks, a new voting-rights act, and a $15 minimum wage, among others — all awaiting Senate action.
The new drug bill, called the Lower Drug Costs Now Act and named in honor of the late Congressman Elijah Cummings of Baltimore, empowers the secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate the cost of up to 250 drugs a year for Medicare patients, setting reductions expected to be passed on through private insurance companies as well.
According to a Bustos news release, it would also cap out-of-pocket drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries at $2,000 a year and would call on pharmaceutical firms to pay rebates for drugs that rise in cost above the rate of inflation. Bustos’s office said it was among “more than 10 bills to lower health-care costs and drive down the outrageous price of prescription drugs” that House Democrats have sent to the Senate. She cited bills “that would enable more affordable prescription drugs to get to the market sooner, reverse the White House’s sabotage of the Affordable Care Act’s enrollment efforts, and crack down on junk insurance plans that refuse to cover pre-existing conditions and raise costs for consumers.”
U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia of Chicago cheered passage, saying, “Too many families in my district are forced to choose between putting food on the table or paying for lifesaving prescription drugs. I’ve heard from people rationing insulin in order to pay for their rent or other necessities. That’s unacceptable. I voted to pass the Lower Drug Costs Now Act to help people like my constituent, 3-year old Elizabeth who lives with cystic fibrosis, have access to the medications they need.
“The bill gives the government the power to negotiate directly with drug companies for the first time in our country’s history, and prevents pharmaceutical price gouging for upwards of 150 million Americans with private health-care plans,” he added. “It also adds comprehensive dental, vision, and hearing benefits to Medicare Part B and increases the number of seniors who qualify for financial support — an important expansion that will help millions of seniors.”
“Too many Illinois families are forced to make the impossible decision between lifesaving medicine and groceries,” said U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly of Matteson. “No family should be forced into this situation because health care is a human right.
“I urge the Senate Majority Leader to take up this life and cost saving measure immediately,” she added.
U.S. Rep. Sean Casten of Downers Grove pointed out that “the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that it would save taxpayers $456 billion over the next 10 years.” Saying, “Prescription-drug prices are out of control,” in a speech on the House floor, Casten added that the bill “would change the lives of the 89,000 seniors on (Medicare) Part D in my district and the over 600,000 people on private insurance plans in my district.”
Whether the Senate takes it up or passes a competitive bill or does nothing, Democrats are expecting it to play a role in next year’s election as they show they can pass legislations favorable to their constituents while pursuing impeachment. The House is also expected to pass the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement next week after Democrats won concessions on labor regulations.
The new drug bill was fought by the pharmaceutical industry, but had the support of citizen groups like AARP.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, headed by Bustos, took immediate aim at U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis of Taylorville with a Facebook advertisement drawing attention to his vote “against lowering our prescription-drug costs.”