Congressman Don Bacon (NE-02) today announced that he had signed on to cosponsor H.R. 19, the Lower Costs, More Cures Act, which would lower costs at the drug counter for patients and seniors.

“These bipartisan reforms would lower out of pocket spending without crushing investment in the research and development of new cures,” said Rep. Bacon. “We need to strengthen transparency and champion competition, and not crush the innovation of possibly groundbreaking new cures for illnesses such as Alzheimer’s, Sickle Cell, Cancer or ALS.”

H.R. 19 will:

• Cap seniors’ out-of-pocket yearly costs at $3100, and also place a monthly cap for Medicare beneficiaries by spreading out the amount a patient owes throughout the year, to help better manage budgets for those living on a fixed income
• Require that information about drug costs be made available by insurance companies in the doctor’s office before a prescription is written
• Bring more generic and biosimilar competition to the marketplace, increasing low-cost options
• Create stronger trade agreements and real enforcement mechanisms to ensure developed countries aren’t unfairly benefitting from American medical innovation and paying lower prescription drug prices.

While this bill will provide many benefits, the Congressional Budget Office says Speaker Pelosi’s bill, H.R. 3, will limit cures and innovation.

“The CBO says that on the low end, 15 fewer cures could be developed if her bill passes because it could severely limit the ability of biopharmaceutical research to invest in future advancements ion biomedical innovations,” said Rep. Bacon. “One cure lost is too many and we simply cannot crush the hopes of patients who have been patiently waiting for that next breakthrough.”

In addition, the Congressional Research Services cautions that provisions limiting drug prices in H.R. 3 could run afoul of the Fifth Amendment’s takings clause as well as the Eighth Amendment’s excessive fines clause.

“We need to pass legislation that will help control costs of prescription drugs so that seniors and consumers don’t have to break open the piggy bank, while also ensuring our biomedical research teams and companies aren’t constrained by lack of funds to find that next cure for someone’s loved one,” added Rep. Bacon.

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