Skip to main content

Congressman Thompson Fulfills Promise For The People, Votes to Pass the Lower Drug Costs Now Act

December 12, 2019

Congressman Thompson Fulfills Promise For The People, Votes to Pass the Lower Drug Costs Now Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Bennie Thompson voted to pass H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, bold, transformative legislation to strengthen the health and financial security of America's seniors and families by finally stopping Americans from having to pay more for their medications than what Big Pharma charges for the same drugs in other countries.

The Lower Drug Costs Now Act finally levels the playing field for American patients and taxpayers:

  • Gives Medicare the power to negotiate directly with the drug companies, and creates powerful new tools to force drug companies to the table to agree to real price reductions, while ensuring seniors never lose access to the prescriptions they need.
  • Makes the lower drug prices negotiated by Medicare available to Americans with private insurance, not just Medicare beneficiaries.
  • Stops drug companies ripping off Americans while charging other countries less for the same drugs, limiting the maximum price for any negotiated drug to be in line with the average price in countries like ours, where drug companies charge less for the same drugs – and admit they still make a profit.
  • Creates a new, $2,000 out-of-pocket limit on prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries, and reverses years of unfair price hikes above inflation across thousands of drugs in Medicare.
  • Reinvests the hundreds of billions of dollars in savings in the most transformational improvement to Medicare since its creation – delivering vision, dental and hearing benefits – and turbocharging the search for new cures.

H.R. 3 will reduce drug costs for millions of Americans in MS-02 and across the Mississippi:

  • Breast Cancer: Mississippi patients could save $45,100 off the average total cost of the breast cancer medication Ibrance per year;
  • Leukemia: Mississippi patients could save $66,300 off the average total cost of the leukemia medication Tasigna per year;
  • Prostate Cancer: Mississippi patients could save $72,100 off the average total cost of the prostate cancer medication Zytiga per year;
  • Arthritis: Mississippi patients could save $30,000 off their total costs on most arthritis drugs per year;
  • Asthma: Mississippi patients could save $1,130 off their total costs on most Asthma drugs per year;
  • HIV/AIDS: Mississippi patients could save $9,000 off their total costs on most HIV/AIDS drugs per year;
  • Multiple Sclerosis: Mississippi patients could save $27,000 off their total costs on most MS drugs per year;
  • Diabetes: Mississippi patients could save $15,000 off the average total cost of the insulin NovoLOG Flexpen per year.

In Mississippi:

  • 98% of Medicare beneficiaries are estimated to gain dental benefits;
  • 88% of Medicare beneficiaries are estimated to obtain vision benefits;
  • 84% of Medicare beneficiaries are estimated to secure hearing benefits.

"On behalf of the people of Mississippi and all Americans, I am proud to join my colleagues to pass the Lower Drug Costs Now Act to deliver significant savings for patients, employers and taxpayers and make critical investments in both the largest expansion of Medicare benefits since Medicare's creation, as well as an expansion of lifesaving research for the groundbreaking cures of the future," continued Rep. Thompson. "With this historic step, House Democrats reaffirm our continued commitment to advance real progress that makes a difference for hard-working families."

Click here to download Congressman Thompson's remarks