‘Lifesaving medication’: Bill aims to cut prescription drug prices for seniors
Nevada’s Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, introduced legislation on Wednesday that aims to reduce prescription drug costs for seniors.
The Reducing Drug Prices for Seniors Act would require prescription drug coinsurance payments for seniors on Medicare to be determined based on the lower net price of the medication, rather than its higher list price, according to Rosen’s office.
“No Nevadan should have to break the bank to pay for their lifesaving medication,” Rosen said in a statement. “That’s why I’m introducing bipartisan legislation to lower out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs for Nevada seniors and reduce the amount of money they have to pay at the pharmacy counter.”
As it stands now, what seniors pay is calculated on a higher price than what an insurance company pays, which results in higher costs for seniors, according to Rosen’s office. Coinsurance payments that seniors pay are based on a percentage of the drug companies’ list prices, which are more expensive than the prices that insurance companies pay after negotiations, according to Rosen’s office.
If a senior has a 50 percent coinsurance and their medication’s list price is $200, they pay $100 out of pocket, even if the insurance company only paid $150 for the drug, according to Rosen’s office. If Rosen and Cornyn’s bill passes, the senior would pay $75.
“By requiring that coinsurances be based on the net price of a medication, the bill would ensure that Medicare beneficiaries will directly benefit from the negotiations between pharmacy benefit managers and drug companies,” said Angus Worthing, president of the Alliance for Transparent and Affordable Prescriptions Action Network, in a statement.
The bill has received endorsements from both national and Nevada organizations, including Age Friendly Reno, Age and Dementia Friendly Winnemucca, Alliance for Aging Research and UnidosUS, according to Rosen’s office.
As part of the Inflation Reduction Act, which became law in 2022, seniors will have their annual out-of-pocket costs for brand-name prescription drugs capped at $3,300 a year and the cost of insulin capped at $35 per month.
Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.