Making Prescription Drugs Affordable
Good Day Sunshine by The Beatles.
Heat Wave by Martha & the Vandellas.
Walking on Sunshine by Katrina & the Waves.
Summertime by The Fresh Prince (and DJ Jazzy Jeff).
No matter what song you played to go along with this weekend’s weather, one thing was clear - it was hot!!! While I was in DC for most of this heat wave, I got to sweat my way through Mothers’ Day in Gig Harbor. Special shout-out to my mom and my wife (both of whom are awesome moms!). I hope all you moms out there had a great day!
As you might have noticed from the title, this week’s newsletter will be focused on what Congress is doing to lower the price of prescription drugs.
But first, I want to give a quick update on the new Committee I am chairing, the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress (aka “the Select Committee”; aka “the Fix Congress Committee”).
I’ve long said that Congress is a fixer-upper. The Select Committee is charged with finding solutions to make Congress more modern and efficient - so that it can work better for YOU.
One of my colleagues referred to Congress as a “19th century institution, using 20th century technology, to solve 21st century problems” - yikes! The Select Committee is working to find ways to make Congress work better so that elected representatives can better serve the American people.
Over the past few weeks, the Select Committee has held hearings to examine a number of different areas. We looked at how Congress can function in a way that provides more transparency, so that members of Congress can make better, more informed decisions, and the American people have more insight into what’s happening in DC. We heard from former members about the problems they’ve observed, including some that caused them to quit. And we heard from experts who detailed the good, the bad, and the ugly from past congressional overhaul efforts.
These hearings have outlined many of the challenges that the Committee faces as we work to find solutions. I’m excited to be leading the charge. Stay tuned for more updates!
Now on to some health care news!
Working To Eradicate Polio Once And For All
Often times, working on health care issues involves my role on the Appropriations Committee, advocating for people and seeking to eradicate diseases. I’ve been proud to work with Rotary International in their efforts to secure funding to eradicate polio. It was an honor to receive recognition for that work and I appreciated former Secretary of State Ralph Munro coming to DC to present the award.
Protecting People With Pre-Existing Conditions
Over the last few years, I’ve talked to many people in our region who have pre-existing conditions and who don’t want to be denied insurance. I’ve met with cancer survivors, diabetics, people grappling with mental health challenges, and so many others who don’t want to return to a system in which insurance companies can discriminate against them. I try to remind folks in DC that conversations about health care aren’t theoretical policy conversations. They affect real people.
Unfortunately, recent years have seen multiple threats to the protections that were put in place under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Beyond the efforts by Congress to repeal the law entirely, we’ve seen proposals from the Trump Administration that would also be very problematic. For example, in November, the Administration laid out a proposal to allow insurance companies to offer short-term plans without patient protections (also known as “junk plans”). Under this proposal, health insurers could reject people with pre-existing conditions or charge them higher premiums. I don’t support that.
In response, last week, the House voted to pass H.R. 986, the Protecting Americans with Pre-existing Conditions Act of 2019, a bill that reverses the Trump Administration’s rules.
There's little doubt that folks want a Congress that acts to protect people with pre-existing conditions and lowers health care costs. With that in mind, I was proud to support this bill. Congress should continue to strengthen the ACA where it can, fix the parts that need fixing, and make every effort to make health care coverage more affordable for all Americans.
Lowering The Cost Of Prescription Drugs
I will never forget standing on the doorstep of a woman in Gig Harbor who told me that she was battling cancer but that the costs of her drugs were so high, she was cutting her pills in half with a razor blade. She said, “I’m going to die from this, and I’m just trying to make ends meet until that day comes.” It was a heart-breaking conversation.
In the greatest country on the planet, people shouldn’t be forced to make a decision like that. Sadly, millions of Americans are struggling to keep up with the increasing costs of prescription drugs. According to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey, 24 percent of Americans didn’t fill a prescription in the previous year because of cost. That’s not right.
There’s no silver bullet to solving this problem, but over the past few months, we’ve been working here in the House on a number of measures that will help reduce costs.
Last week, the House voted to pass two bills to help get generic drugs to market faster, bolster competition within the generic drug marketplace, and lower costs overall.
This week, the House will take up H.R. 987, the Strengthening Health Care and Lowering Prescription Drug Costs Act, which expands affordable health care and lowers prescription drug costs. Here’s a glimpse of what’s inside that bill:
First, the bill includes three important measures to make prescription drugs more affordable and more accessible to the people who need them the most. One measure would keep drug companies from blocking access to the samples needed to create generic drugs. The bill also targets the so-called “pay for delay” problem, making it illegal for brand-name and generic drug manufacturers to enter into agreements in which the brand-name drug manufacturer pays a generic manufacturer to keep a generic equivalent off the market (according to a Federal Trade Commission study, these types of anti-competitive deals costs Americans $3.5 billion in higher drug prices ever year!). And a third would encourage competition on the generic prescription drug market by speeding up the development of more affordable generics and by spurring competition.
The bill also focuses on making health care more affordable and accessible. Research tells us that if more people have access to more affordable coverage, it will reduce the number of people showing up in emergency rooms with no insurance. In other words, expanding coverage can reduce costs for everybody. Having said that, figuring out the health insurance system can be really difficult for hard-working families. In response, under the Affordable Care Act, a system of navigators was put in place to help people find the right insurance plan to meet their needs. Unfortunately, these resources have been largely eliminated by the current Administration. This bill will guarantee funding for health care navigator programs and will help spread the word about health care by boosting outreach and educational activities to inform people about their coverage options, advise whether financial support is available, and ultimately help people purchase coverage.
This bill will also provide incentives for states to transition to state-based health insurance exchanges to increase access and lower health care costs. And importantly, as mentioned above, this package will reverse the Trump Administration’s expansion of junk health insurance plans that deny sufficient protections to people with pre-existing conditions as well as other patient protections.
If you’ve made it this far - congratulations! You’ve qualified for a degree in health care economics!
Seriously... I know this stuff is a bit technical. But together, these bills will address many of the problems that plague the prescription drug marketplace and are driving up health care costs. I’m hopeful we’ll see bipartisan support for these bills in the week ahead. While plenty more needs to be done to reduce costs, turning these proposals into laws will make a real difference for the American people.
Working For You
As always, my favorite part of this job is meeting with all of YOU. Here are some of the highlights from my time in the district these past couple weeks:
Experiencing the Local Arts
It was fantastic to attend a luncheon at the Tacoma Art Museum with Jen (it’s not often we get to lunch together!). The Tacoma Art Museum makes extraordinary contributions to the community and to arts education.
Exploring Our Airways
I loved bringing Tess to Alaska Airlines’ Aviation Day to see what they’ve got cookin’ and to watch so many kids across the region dream about taking flight. And I’m not kidding when I say Tess may seriously be considering a future as a pilot!
Celebrating Our Diversity
I also was fortunate to be able to bring Tess to the Asia Pacific Cultural Center’s Taste of Korea event. We made mandu! Tess was an award-winning dumpling-maker!
Seeing The Growth Of NASSCO Bremerton
I remember when General Dynamics NASSCO opened their office in Bremerton back in 2014! It was great to visit their manufacturing facility and see how they’ve grown. Thanks to the hardworking employees there for taking a moment to speak with me!
That’s all for this week, folks! Thanks for reading - and as always, don’t be afraid to reach out if I can ever be helpful.
I’m honored to represent you.
Derek