WASHINGTON, DC – On Thursday, December 12, Congressman Jimmy Panetta (CA-20) voted to pass H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, to lower drug prices, expand Medicare coverage to include dental, vision, and hearing services, and invest in research for treatment and cures.
"The costs of prescription drugs have been an increasing burden on seniors and families on the Central Coast. No one should feel forced to ration their medication, or choose between paying their bills and filling a prescription," said Congressman Panetta. "With the Lower Drug Costs Now Act, we will bring down prescription drug costs for all consumers, Medicare beneficiaries and those with private insurance alike."
The Lower Drug Costs Now Act would:
Give Medicare the power to negotiate directly with the drug companies to bring down prices and create powerful new tools to force drug companies to the table to agree to real price reductions.
Make the lower drug prices negotiated by Medicare available to Americans with private insurance too, not just those on Medicare.
Stop drug companies ripping off Americans while charging other countries less for the same drugs by limiting the maximum price for any negotiated drug.
Create a new $2,000 out-of-pocket limit on prescription drug costs for people on Medicare.
Save taxpayers approximately $500 billion over the next ten years and reinvest that savings into:
Expanding Medicare benefits to cover things like dental, vision, and hearing,
Combatting the addiction crisis, and
Researching new cures and treatments.
For the 78,527 seniors living in CA-20 enrolled in a Medicare Part D plan and the 438,020 individuals enrolled in private health insurance, H.R. 3 will deliver substantial savings. Additionally, H.R. 3’s expansion of Medicare coverage will allow an estimated:
112,600 Medicare beneficiaries in CA-20 to gain dental benefits;
110,100 Medicare beneficiaries in CA-20 to obtain vision benefits;
111,900 Medicare beneficiaries in CA-20 to secure hearing benefits.
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