| Health-related Bill Name | H.R. 3 – The Lower Drug Costs Now Act |
| Bill Number | H.R. 3 |
| Description | The Bill develops various requirements and programs relating to offering prices to prescription drugs. Also, the bill wants to give power to the US government to negotiate drug prices with private companies for Medicare recipient. |
| Federal or State? | This bill is meant to affect the federal government, and thus it is a federal bill. |
| Legislative Intent | The prices of prescription drugs are so high. According to a report by the speaker of the house, Nancy Pelosi, big pharmaceutical companies in the US have raised the prices of the drugs 10 times higher than how the drugs are sold outside the US (Pelosi, n. d).
Also, the report mentions that the firms make huge profits even though they sell the same drugs outside the US for lower prices. For instance, in the US, the cost of insulin drugs is ten times much higher than the cost of the same drugs in the UK, France, or Germany. The cost of the drugs has increased drastically since 1990s (Sterling, 2018). The current laws forbid Medicare from negotiating drug prices. The intention of H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act is to grant Medicare power to negotiate the drug prices in a move to reduce the cost of drugs in the country. |
| Proponents/ Opponents | Proponents: The proponents of the bill are house democrats. All the democrats in the house unanimously voted for the bill. In addition, Jaime Herrera Beutler and Brian Fitzpatrick also jointed the democrats in supporting the bill. According to Zhou (2019), out of 422 representatives, 230 passed the bills. |
| Opponents: The bill was opposed by house republicans. However, two of the republicans supported the bill along with the democrats (Benen, 2019).
Apart from the house republicans, the White House led by president Donald Trump and the Senate Republicans have also opposed the bill. |
|
| Target Population | The bill targets people with chronic diseases such as diabetes. When the bill will become law, the prices of prescription drugs will reduce because the government will now have the power to negotiate of behalf of Medicare recipients. |
| Status of the bill (Is it in hearings or committees? Is it receiving press coverage?) | The bill has been discussed in the house of the representatives and passed. Currently, the bill is an act that will be submitted in the house of senate for further discussions and reviews. The American media has given the bill fair coverage because it affects their health.
After the bill was passed in the house of representatives, the speaker of the house gave a press conference about the bill and what she expects the senate to do about it. |
| General Notes/Comments
|
This bill will change the healthcare system by providing Medicare with power to develop tools that the institution can use to force drug companies to reduce the price of drugs.
As a result, the bill will ensure that people with chronic conditions get regular access to their prescriptions. |
Part 2: Legislation Testimony/Advocacy Statement
My Position for the Bill
As a nurse I support the H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act bill due to the following reasons. First, the bill will make the work of nurses easy. Horvath and Anderson (2019) mention that a nurse has a responsibility of ensuring that his or her patient is given quality care. However, the current prices of prescription drugs prevent nurses from delivering on their mandates. The nurses find it hard to provide care because their patients do have access to prescription drugs due to the high prices.
Second, the bill will allow the reinvestment in researches and innovations for new
Order this paper| Health-related Bill Name | H.R. 3 – The Lower Drug Costs Now Act |
| Bill Number | H.R. 3 |
| Description | The Bill develops various requirements and programs relating to offering prices to prescription drugs. Also, the bill wants to give power to the US government to negotiate drug prices with private companies for Medicare recipient. |
| Federal or State? | This bill is meant to affect the federal government, and thus it is a federal bill. |
| Legislative Intent | The prices of prescription drugs are so high. According to a report by the speaker of the house, Nancy Pelosi, big pharmaceutical companies in the US have raised the prices of the drugs 10 times higher than how the drugs are sold outside the US (Pelosi, n. d).
Also, the report mentions that the firms make huge profits even though they sell the same drugs outside the US for lower prices. For instance, in the US, the cost of insulin drugs is ten times much higher than the cost of the same drugs in the UK, France, or Germany. The cost of the drugs has increased drastically since 1990s (Sterling, 2018). The current laws forbid Medicare from negotiating drug prices. The intention of H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act is to grant Medicare power to negotiate the drug prices in a move to reduce the cost of drugs in the country. |
| Proponents/ Opponents | Proponents: The proponents of the bill are house democrats. All the democrats in the house unanimously voted for the bill. In addition, Jaime Herrera Beutler and Brian Fitzpatrick also jointed the democrats in supporting the bill. According to Zhou (2019), out of 422 representatives, 230 passed the bills. |
| Opponents: The bill was opposed by house republicans. However, two of the republicans supported the bill along with the democrats (Benen, 2019).
Apart from the house republicans, the White House led by president Donald Trump and the Senate Republicans have also opposed the bill. |
|
| Target Population | The bill targets people with chronic diseases such as diabetes. When the bill will become law, the prices of prescription drugs will reduce because the government will now have the power to negotiate of behalf of Medicare recipients. |
| Status of the bill (Is it in hearings or committees? Is it receiving press coverage?) | The bill has been discussed in the house of the representatives and passed. Currently, the bill is an act that will be submitted in the house of senate for further discussions and reviews. The American media has given the bill fair coverage because it affects their health.
After the bill was passed in the house of representatives, the speaker of the house gave a press conference about the bill and what she expects the senate to do about it. |
| General Notes/Comments
|
This bill will change the healthcare system by providing Medicare with power to develop tools that the institution can use to force drug companies to reduce the price of drugs.
As a result, the bill will ensure that people with chronic conditions get regular access to their prescriptions. |
Part 2: Legislation Testimony/Advocacy Statement
My Position for the Bill
As a nurse I support the H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act bill due to the following reasons. First, the bill will make the work of nurses easy. Horvath and Anderson (2019) mention that a nurse has a responsibility of ensuring that his or her patient is given quality care. However, the current prices of prescription drugs prevent nurses from delivering on their mandates. The nurses find it hard to provide care because their patients do have access to prescription drugs due to the high prices.
Second, the bill will allow the reinvestment in researches and innovations for new
Order this paper