FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Summer Johnson
September 12, 2023 sjohnson@riesterinfluence.com
NATIONAL PATIENT ADVOCACY GROUP ISSUES
‘MUST PASS FOR PATIENTS’
WASHINGTON — Patients Rising, a national non-profit organization that advocates on behalf of patients with chronic illness and their caregivers, today released its Must Pass for Patients, its top five policy priorities that would improve life for all patients. The group is calling upon the 118th Congress to not let healthcare policy bills fall to the back burner, but instead, pass those bills this fall to ensure access and affordability of healthcare.
“Too many critical, life-changing healthcare bills sat dormant and must be put into action for patients in a meaningful healthcare bill,” said Terry Wilcox, CEO of Patients Rising. “Patients in our community deal daily with high copays, insurance hurdles like step therapy and lengthy prior authorization processes, among other barriers to care. If Congress wants to make meaningful reforms for the millions of Americans living with chronic illness, like they say they do, please act now on our Must Pass for Patients List.”
The Must Pass for Patients List includes:
- The Help Ensure Lower Patient Copays Act (H.R. 830/S. 1375) would lower out-of-pocket costs by requiring that health insurance plans apply third-party payments, financial assistance, and discounts to a patient’s cost-sharing requirements, like a deductible.
- Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act of 2023 (H.R. 485) to prevent discrimination against Americans with disabilities by prohibiting the use of the quality-adjusted life year and other forms of adjusted-life-year metrics.
- The Drug Price Transparency in Medicaid Act (H.R. 1613) would make a pass-through pricing model required for PBMs.
- The Protecting Patients Against PBM Abuses Act (H.R. 2880) would delink PBM compensation from the price of a covered drug and prohibit PBMs from steering patients to financially aligned incentives.
- The PBM Sunshine and Accountability Act (H.R. 2816) would strengthen reporting requirements for PBMs and the amount they receive in rebates, administrative fees, and clawbacks from pharmacies.
Last week, committee leaders from the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the House Ways and Means Committee, and the House Education and Workforce Committee
Introduced The Lower Cost, More Transparency Act, a bipartisan legislative package that would increase health care price transparency and lower costs for both patients and employers.
“We applaud these lawmakers for their continued commitment to more accessible and affordable healthcare solutions for patients, and to not allow these policies to get pushed to the back burner,” said Wilcox. “The Lower Cost, More Transparency Act would do that handily.
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Patients Rising
Patients Rising is a non-profit organization serving patients and caregivers living with chronic or rare illnesses and disabilities. Its professionals work directly with these healthcare users in learning, seeking and advocating for access to the care they need.
