Meng Hails House Passage of Legislation to Lower Prescription Drug Prices for Americans

December 12, 2019
Press Release

The Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, which Meng supported, provides historic investments in Medicare and public health

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) today hailed the House of Representatives' passage of the transformative Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act (H.R. 3), a bill that makes major efforts to lower prescription drug prices for Americans.
"Today, House Democrats took a bold step to rein in the skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs with the passage of the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act," said Meng. "This is just a first step in making medicine affordable, much like the Affordable Care Act was in expanding healthcare coverage to millions of Americans. We pay the highest costs for lifesaving drugs compared to other countries, but do not have better health outcomes. The exorbitant costs have forced many people—particularly seniors and low-income families—in Queens and across the nation to choose between paying their rent to skipping groceries in order to buy their medications. Our nation should be ashamed of this; the situation must change and that is why the House took action today. Now the Senate must act immediately and follow suit to bring relief to millions of Americans."
Specifically, the legislation would:
  • Empower the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate lower drug costs for up to 250 drugs per year that do not have competition in the United States.
  • Create a $2,000 out-of-pocket limit on drug spending in Medicare Part D.
  • Expand Medicare Part B coverage for dental, vision, and hearing benefits.
  • Improve Medicare's Low-Income Subsidy and Program and Medicare Savings Program to help seniors afford their prescription drugs.
  • Reauthorize and expand the Health Profession Opportunity Grant Program, which will help address health worker shortages.
  • Double investment in the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program that is proven to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity.
  • Invest over $10 billion into biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health.
  • Invest an additional $2 billion at the Food and Drug Administration to enhance drug development, review, and safety.
  • Invest $10 billion in combatting the national opioid crisis.
  • Invest $10 billion in Community Health Centers to improve and expand facilities and serve more people—including veterans, patients with substance use disorder, and Americans living in rural areas.
Specific effects of H.R. 3 would bring enormous health benefits for all New Yorkers, including many in Queens. In Meng's district, expanding Medicare Part B coverage for dental, vision, and hearing would benefit 127,700 people, 106,800 people, and 120,400 people, respectively.
Empowering the government to negotiate prescription drug costs would have enormous benefits for Americans. For example, over 1.6 million New Yorkers live with diabetes and pay from $1,200 to $20,000 annually. Under H.R. 3, New Yorkers could pay as little as $400 per year for some commonly used insulin.
H.R. 3, which Meng cosponsored, has been endorsed by AARP, Alliance for Retired Americans, Catholic Health Association of the United States, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, Leadership Council of Aging Organizations (LCAO), AFL-CIO, SEIU, UAW, Medicare Rights Center, Voices for Progress (V4P), and Patients for Affordable Drugs Now.