Prescription drug pricing and surprise medical bills are hot topics in Congress today as lawmakers seek to address rising consumer health care costs. Several House and Senate committees have advanced legislation on drug pricing and surprise billing.
The purpose of prescription drug pricing legislation is to:
- Reform and update the 36-year-old law defining orphan drug legislation.
- Prevent drug manufacturers from blocking generics and biosimilars to the market.
- Limit unneeded reformulation of existing drugs in order to increase prices or push out patent protections.
Following are congressional comparisons of current surprise billing legislation:
It remains uncertain if Congress will act this year to address the affordability of prescription drugs, but states aren’t waiting. So far this year, 33 states have enacted 51 laws to address drug prices, affordability and access. This tops the previous record of 45 laws enacted in 28 states last year, according to the National Academy for State Health Policy.*
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*Steven Findlay, Kaiser Health News, States Pass Record Number of Laws To Reel In Drug Prices
(Kaiser Health News, September 9, 2019)