October 31, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 173 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1383]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF DRUG DISCOUNTS AND REAL-TIME BENEFICIARY DRUG COST 
                                  ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 28, 2019

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 
2115, the ``Public Disclosure of Drug Discounts Act.''
  H.R. 2115 requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) 
to publish certain payment information regarding pharmacy benefit 
managers (PBMs) and prescription drugs.
  Specifically, the CMS must publish certain information, as reported 
by PBMs, relating to generic dispensing rates, drug discounts and 
rebates, and payments between PBMs, health plans, and pharmacies, in 
accordance with specified confidentiality requirements.
  Commercially available drug pricing comparison platforms can, at no 
cost, help patients find the lowest price for their medications at 
their local pharmacy.
  Such platforms should be integrated, to the maximum extent possible, 
in the health care delivery ecosystem, while also protecting patient 
privacy.
  The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 
provides data privacy and security provisions for safeguarding 
sensitive health care information.
  H.R. 2115 will provide patients with access to drug prices 
information while also protecting patient health privacy.
  Pharmacy benefit managers should work to disclose generic and brand 
name drug prices to such platforms to ensure that patients can benefit 
from the lowest possible price available to them; and overall drug 
prices can be reduced as more educated purchasing decisions are made 
based on price transparency.
  Diabetes is a life-threatening disease that disproportionately 
affects communities of color.
  Diabetes is associated with serious health problems, including heart 
disease and stroke, kidney failure, and blindness.
  In 2017, diabetes contributed to the death of 277,000 Americans--and 
was the primary death for 85,000 of those individuals.
  That same year diagnosed diabetes cost the United States an estimated 
$327 billion--including $237 billion in direct medical costs and $90 
billion in productivity losses.
  Diabetes drugs, including insulin and oral medications that regulate 
blood sugar levels, play a critical role in helping people with 
diabetes manage their condition and reduce the risk of diabetes-related 
health complications.
  After the Democrats took control of the House in January we got to 
work on a report on the high cost of insulin and we determined that the 
Americans' with diabetes are in crisis.
  Even though analog insulin has been on the market for nearly 30 
years, it has no meaningful generic competition.
  Over the past two decades, manufacturers have systematically and 
dramatically raised the prices of their insulin products by more than 
tenfold--often in lockstep.
  These prices dwarf manufacturing costs.
  One study found manufacturers could charge as little as $7 to $11 per 
month for insulin and still make a profit.
  In recent years, the high prices of diabetes drugs have placed a 
tremendous strain on diabetes patients as well as the federal 
government, which provides diabetes medications to more than 43 million 
Medicare beneficiaries.
  These high prices lead many people to ration or stop taking their 
medications, which can result in serious health complications and even 
death, as the Energy and Commerce Committee heard in direct testimony 
earlier this year.
  The prices of diabetes medications--and insulin in particular--are 
far higher in the United States than they are overseas, in part because 
certain federal programs lack the authority to negotiate directly with 
drug manufacturers.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 
2115 to require the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to publish 
necessary payment information regarding pharmacy benefit managers and 
prescription drugs.

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