Quality and Affordable Healthcare & Wellness for All

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Policies and legislation we support, toward the goal of providing Quality and Affordable Healthcare & Wellness for All, and addressing the rising health care costs, related opioid addition crisis, and other healthcare issues that have fallen on the backs of the working Middle Class over the last 40 years:

The Preventing Mental Health and Substance Use Crises During Emergencies Act, Senate Bill 708, a bipartisan bill pending in the U.S. Congress. This is “A bill to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to convene a task force to advise the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use on a national strategy for preventing mental health and substance use crises during a public health emergency, and for other purposes.” Sponsors: Sen. Mark Kelly [D-AZ]; Sen. Shelley Capito [R-WV].

The CARA 3.0 Act of 2021, Senate Bill 987, pending in the U.S. Congress. This is a bipartisan bill “to provide support with respect to the prevention of, treatment for, and recovery from, substance use disorder.” A full text of the Bill is available HERE.

The Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Act, Senate Bill 908, pending in the U.S. Congress. This is “A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for the negotiation of lower covered part D drug prices on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries and the establishment and application of a formulary by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under Medicare part D, and for other purposes.” A proposed draft text of the Bill can be found HERE.

The Empowering Medicare Seniors to Negotiate Drug Prices Act of 2021, Senate Bill 833, pending in the U.S. Congress. This is a Bill to allow “the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to negotiate drug prices under the Medicare prescription drug benefit and to institute a price structure for the reimbursement of drugs covered under the benefit.”

The Health Care Improvement Act of 2021, Senate Bill 352, pending in the U.S. Congress. This is a Bill “To amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to reduce health care costs and expand health care coverage to more Americans.” It includes provisions to reduce healthcare costs and protect patients with preexisting conditions, encourage Medicaid expansion and strengthen the Medicaid program, establishment of a public healthcare option for those who want it, assure fair Medicare payments to Rural Providers, negotiation to lower prescription drug prices, and commonsense reporting requirements for employers. A full text of the draft Bill can be can be found HERE.

The Prescription Drug Price Relief Act of 2021, Senate Bill 909, pending in the U.S. Congress. This is “A bill to significantly lower prescription drug prices for patients in the United States by ending government-granted monopolies for manufacturers who charge drug prices that are higher than the median prices at which the drugs are available in other countries.” A full text of the Bill is available HERE.

The Ensuring Seniors’ Access to COVID Treatments Act, House Bill 975, pending in the U.S. Congress. This is a Bill to “Require prescription drug plans under Medicare and Medicare Advantage to cover drugs that are approved to treat COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) without cost-sharing during the public health emergency.”

The Medicare Dental Benefit Act of 2021, Senate Bill 97, pending in the U.S. Congress. This is a Bill to “Provide for Medicare coverage of dental and oral health services, including routine diagnostic and preventive services, basic and major dental services, and emergency care; dental prostheses are also covered. Currently, such services are excluded from Medicare coverage.” A full text of the Bill can be found HERE.

House Bill 2891, pending in the U.S. Congress. This is a bipartisan Bill “To prohibit prescription drug companies from compensating other prescription drug companies to delay the entry of a generic drug, biosimilar biological product, or interchangeable biological product into the market.”