19 Sep Congressman Steven Horsford commits to lower prescription drug prices by cosponsoring ambitious House legislation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 19, 2019

Contact: Will Pregman, wpregman@battlebornprogress.org, 702.752.0656

Congressman Steven Horsford commits to lower prescription drug prices by cosponsoring ambitious House legislation

LAS VEGAS, NV – This morning, Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, joined by Nevada Congressman Steven Horsford, held a press conference unveiling a highly anticipated piece of legislation to rein in prescription drug costs. The bill, called the Lower Prescription Drug Costs Now Act, or H.R. 3 was co-sponsored by Congressman Horsford, demonstrating his willingness to fight for lowering prescription drug costs for Nevadans.  

Annette Magnus, Executive Director of Battle Born Progress, released the following statement:  

“Rising prescription drug costs have endangered almost 28 million Americans who depend on medications to survive. Last month, our organization hosted a roundtable discussion with Congressman Steven Horsford, Congresswoman Susie Lee, Senator Yvanna Cancela, patients, and advocates to find solutions to this very issue. Today, we are proud to see Congressman Horsford show real leadership by following through on the conversations we had that day and cosponsoring Speaker Pelosi’s bill to stop the price gouging of working families by drug companies. 

H.R. 3 is a step in the right direction for Nevadans, and people around the country who struggle to afford medicine. This bill imposes much-needed accountability on drug companies and provides mechanisms to bring prices down. We would still like to see the House address companies’ ability to launch their drugs at high prices in the first place. However, H.R. 3 is a strong starting point, especially in contrast to Trump’s lip-service and non-solutions which continue to take us backward. We’ll keep working with our delegation and local leaders to lower prescription drug prices for Nevadans, and all Americans.”

ABOUT H.R. 3:
The newest prescription drug proposal from the House does the following:

• H.R. 3 would finally allow Medicare to negotiate directly with drug companies to lower prescription drug prices. 
• Government-negotiated lower prices on prescription medicines would also apply beyond Medicare so that people with employer-sponsored insurance or other private insurance would also get lower prices. 
• Americans often pay many times more than people in similar countries pay for the same prescription medicines. The bill would create an International Price Index to level the playing field and ensure that drug companies can no longer charge American patients two to six times what they charge patients in other developed nations.
• Drug companies that refuse to negotiate, negotiate in bad faith or overcharge Medicare would face stiff penalties. 
• Drug companies would be penalized​ if they increase the price of over 8,000 drugs by more than inflation. The proposal includes an “inflation rebate” that requires drug corporations to pay the amount they charge over inflation back to the government. That money would then be reinvested in NIH (National Institutes for Health) research of new medicines or in expanding healthcare access and services to more people.

SPOKESPEOPLE ARE AVAILABLE FOR COMMENT IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH

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