Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act of 2023

Floor Speech

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Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 485, the so-called Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act of 2023.

I have to say that it is a bit rich to hear my colleague talk about preexisting conditions and their party's concern for it when he has been part of the party that has been completely opposed to protecting people with preexisting conditions because they have repeatedly, over and over, tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

The bill before us today does almost nothing to protect healthcare for patients and, instead, would likely increase healthcare costs across the board.

As the ranking member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, I am especially alarmed at the impact this bill would potentially have on our veterans' care, and I have to say I wonder why this bill was not referred also to the Veterans' Affairs Committee, given its impact on this jurisdiction.

Under current law, multiple Federal programs like VA's have special pricing arrangements for prescription drugs that rely on up-front discounts and rebates. It is a win-win system for both taxpayers and veterans.

The VA keeps costs lower and is able to make sure veterans get access to the drugs they need. In fact, I would daresay the Department of Veterans Affairs has the most robust negotiations over the drugs on its formulary. However, this bill would upend this proven system and instead inject uncertainty into drug pricing.

That chaos has a very real cost for VA and DOD: $240 million for the 2023-2033 time period, according to the CBO. ``Other similar measures'' simply does seem to have a measurable effect for CBO, those words, ``other similar measures.'' This will diminish VA's ability to deliver care to veterans and force the Department to make cuts to services elsewhere.

Consequently, that begs the question, who benefits from this disarray? Big Pharma does. They reap the rewards and push up their profits. I have to say, their lobbyists will really have earned their outrageously large paycheck if this bill passes because it is so clearly a rip-off. Taxpayers and veterans lose, while Big Pharma wins? Give me a break.

However, House Democrats are opposed to this blatant rip-off and will fight it tooth and nail. Instead of doing Big Pharma's bidding, we are focused on lowering drug prices for Americans. House Democrats are proud to have worked with the Biden administration to deliver on capping the cost of insulin at $35 per month for seniors, finally allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, and requiring drug companies to pay rebates to Medicare if they raise prices faster than inflation.

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Mr. TAKANO. Let me add, Democrats have also locked in $800 per year in health insurance savings for 15 million Americans.

Members should ask themselves who has more credibility on protecting Americans' healthcare and saving them money and lowering costs. I would submit the Democrats do.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill. It will cost taxpayers money, it will cost the VA more money, and just give more profits to Big Pharma.

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