The House Made Major Progress on Healthcare. Why is No One Paying Attention?

HuffPost Reports: Democrats Did Something Big On Health Care And Nobody Is Paying Attention

Last December, the House passed a major healthcare bill that would help struggling Americans finally afford their prescription drugs.

And yet, absolutely no one is paying attention.

The most important provision of the bill would allow the federal government to negotiate directly with manufacturers over drug prices, as authorities in other countries do. That could slash the price of everything from insulin to cutting-edge, breakthrough treatments for cancer for the vast majority of Americans.

Of course there are shortcomings in the bill but we need this change now.

The bill probably would have dominated the news cycle, and have more of a profile today, if the vote hadn’t taken place right when the country was focusing on impeachment ― and if the proposal’s natural champions in the progressive community, who fought with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca.) over its reach and eventually won some key concessions, had touted it more.

In addition to its lack of press, Mitch McConnell has refused to consider even reading the bill.

The first is a set of provisions that would limit out-of-pocket drug spending, like copays at the pharmacy, for seniors in Medicare Part D, the program’s drug benefit. This is the least controversial part of the proposal because, in reality, it’s just throwing government money at the problem. 

H.R. 3’s second component would limit the ability of drug companies to raise prices year after year, by tying price increases to inflation. These limits would apply both to drugs in Part D (which is for drugs people buy directly themselves) and Part B (which includes drugs that physicians and clinics buy, then administer directly to patients). The bill also calls for studying ways of applying these limits to drugs available to other buyers.

Americans should be able to afford their daily prescriptions. Help us spread the word on lowering prescription drug costs.

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