Tillis Co-Introduces Legislation to Tackle Prescription Drug Prices, Encourage New Treatments | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    WASHINGTON, D.C.     This week, U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) co-introduced the Lower Costs, More Cures Act (LCMCA) to lower prescription drug prices, bring greater transparency to the prescription drug industry, and encourage American ingenuity in the development of new treatments and cures.

    "I've been working to make sure that North Carolinians have affordable health care, which includes having access to prescription drugs they can afford," said Senator Tillis. "The Lower Costs, More Cures Act is a commonsense solution that will bring down prescription drug costs for North Carolinians while also ensuring that America continues to be the global leader in innovation and producing life-saving treatments and cures."

    The Lower Costs, More Cures Act, among other things, would:

• Modernize payments for drugs delivered in the doctor's office under Medicare Part B;
• Incentivize lower-cost alternatives, or biosimilars;
• Establish an annual out-of-pocket cap of $3,100 for Medicare Part D enrollees and allow certain patients to pay in monthly installments;
• Decrease beneficiary cost sharing from 25 percent to 15 percent of costs before the out-of-pocket cap is reached;
• Allow prescription drug plan sponsors to offer, at minimum, up to four Part D plans per region, spurring competition and innovation;
• Make permanent the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation model that enables Part D enrollees taking insulin to limit out-of-pocket costs to $35;
• Allow state Medicaid programs to enter in outcomes-based agreements to pay for life-saving gene therapy treatments;
• Provide the HHS Secretary with the authority to require drug manufacturers to provide pricing information on all direct-to-consumer advertising;
• Codify a Trump Administration regulatory action that classifies insulin and other treatments for chronic conditions as preventative care so that high deductible health plans can cover costs before the patient reaches the deductible; and
• Create a trade negotiator solely dedicated to putting American patients first in government trade negotiations related to medicines in order to prevent foreign free-loading off America's investment.

    Full text of the LCMCA can be found HERE.