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Rep. Sharice Davids Votes on Strengthening Health Care and Lowering Prescription Drug Costs Act

May 16, 2019

Today, Rep. Sharice Davids voted to pass H.R. 987, the Strengthening Health Care and Lowering Prescription Drug Costs Act, to help rein in the soaring costs of health care and prescription drugs and reverse the Trump Administration's ongoing attacks on the Affordable Care Act.

"This bipartisan legislative package is a key step forward in addressing some of the top concerns of Kansans – lowering the costs of prescription drugs and maintaining strong protections for people with pre-existing conditions," said Davids. "I'm proud to support the Strengthening Health Care and Lowering Prescription Drug Costs Act to help ensure that every family in Kansas and this country has access to affordable prescription drugs and health care that protects pre-existing conditions."

The omnibus legislation includes three bills to lower the skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs by helping generic drugs get to market faster and four measures to reinforce the protections for people with pre-existing conditions and expand enrollment in quality, affordable coverage to more Americans:

  • The CREATES Act: Currently, certain brand-name manufacturers use tactics to withhold or delay generic manufacturers getting from them the brand drug samples they need to develop their generic products. This bill establishes a process by which generic manufacturers are able to obtain sufficient quantities of the brand drug samples, thereby blocking these delaying tactics.
  • The Protecting Consumer Access to Generic Drugs Act: Currently, brand-name drug manufacturers can enter into a "pay-for-delay" agreement in which the brand-name manufacturer pays the generic manufacturer to delay bringing a generic equivalent to market, significantly hurting consumers. This bill makes these "pay-for-delay" agreements illegal.
  • The BLOCKING Act: Currently, the first generic applicant to FDA is granted 180 days of market exclusivity, but some generics then fail to move the product to market, called "parking" – thereby blocking other generics from applying to FDA.  This bill allows generics to get to market earlier by changing the rules on "parking."
  • The SAVE Act: This bipartisan bill appropriates $200 million to assist interested states in creating their own state-based marketplaces.  State-based marketplaces are outperforming the Federal marketplace, achieving lower premiums and higher enrollment.  This bill empowers states to implement new approaches that lower costs and expand coverage for American families, thereby improving our health care system.
  • The MORE Health Education Act & The ENROLL Act:  These bills, containing provisions similar to provisions in the bipartisan Alexander-Murray proposal put forward in the Senate in the last Congress, restore critical funding for marketplace consumer outreach and enrollment education activities, as well as critical funding for the Navigator program, both of which the Trump Administration has slashed.  CBO estimates this funding will result in about 500,000 additional enrollees in nongroup quality, affordable coverage and Medicaid each year over the next 10 years.
  • Rescinding the Trump Administration's Devastating Junk Plan Rule:  This bill reinforces the protections for people with pre-existing conditions by revoking the Trump Administration's rule that promotes the sale of junk plans, which discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions and do not cover essential benefits. 

Davids has co-sponsored the CREATES Act and the Protecting Consumer Access to Generic Drugs Act.