Article by Dena Bunis, AARP
“The House of Representatives will now vote in December on a bill that would lower the costs of prescription drugs for Medicare Part D enrollees by requiring the program to negotiate prices and cap out-of-pocket expenses.
According to a senior House aide, leadership is waiting to schedule a vote on the floor of HR 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019, until the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) completes its full analysis of the legislation. An initial analysis of the measure said it would save Medicare $345 billion over a decade, cutting costs for the drug program by about a quarter. A separate report from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said patients in non-Medicare households would save $158 billion over that time.”