Chairman Bishop Works to Lower Prescription Drug Prices

Statement

Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), Chairman of the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, released a statement following the passage of H.R. 3, the Lower Drug Costs Now Act, which passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 230 to 192:

"The current prices of prescription drugs for Americans are outrageous. Companies have raised prices for prescriptions for Americans to three, four, and even ten times higher than the prices in other countries--even though their overseas prices still produce a profit. It is despicable that companies would take advantage of people with cancer and chronic illnesses simply because these medications are not optional for them.

"To add insult to injury, drug companies are not using these high prices to fund research and innovation for new medicine and cures. Higher prices in America are purely for lining their already well-lined pockets.

"Bottom line, Americans should not be held hostage by companies for life-saving medication and I am proud to support legislation that will help citizens get the medicine they need to live."

What H.R. 3 Does

Lowers prices for both Medicare recipients and people enrolled in private insurance
Establishes a fair price drug negotiation program to reduce the cost of certain high-priced drugs that do not have competition
Adds Medicare Part B dental, hearing, and vision coverage for the first time
Creates a new $2,000 out-of-pocket limit on prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries and uses the cost savings to invest in research for new cures and treatments
Makes a number of additional investments in Medicare that will lower beneficiary out-of-pocket costs
Boosts funding for biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) investing over $10 billion with the goal of accelerating the search for the next big scientific breakthrough
Invests $10 billion of direct funds in Community Health Centers
How Georgians Are Affected

Lowers prescription drug costs for 92,193 Medicare recipients and 341,123 private insurance recipients, for a total of 433,316 people
About 92% of Georgia Medicare beneficiaries (118,400 people) stand to gain from adding a dental benefit
About 76% of Georgia Medicare beneficiaries (98,200 people) stand to gain from adding a vision benefit
About 87% of Georgia Medicare beneficiaries (111,100 people) stand to gain from adding a hearing benefit
Leukemia: Can save 71% on the medication Tasigna per year
In 2019, an estimated 1,800 people in Georgia are or will be diagnosed with leukemia
Breast Cancer: Can save 65% on the medication Ibrance per year
In 2019, an estimated 8,000 women in Georgia are or will be diagnosed with breast cancer
Prostate Cancer: Can save 66% on the medication Zytiga
In 2019, an estimated 5,400 people in Georgia are or will be diagnosed with prostate cancer
Arthritis: Can save 75% on common drugs per year
2.45 million Georgians have arthritis
Diabetes: Can help the 948,549 Georgians with diabetes spend 3.5 times less on insulin
Georgia residents currently spend anywhere from $1,200 to $20,000 on insulin
Asthma: Can save 82% on drugs per year
663,053 Georgia residents live with asthma
HIV/AIDS: Can save 60% on drugs per year
In 2016, 51,350 Georgia residents were living with HIV
Additional background on H.R. 3, the Lower Drug Costs Now Act, is available here.

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