COSTA DELIVERS ON PROMISE TO LOWER HEALTHCARE COSTS

(WASHINGTON) - This year Congressman Jim Costa (CA-16) has been working to deliver on his pledge to bring down health care costs by addressing the skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs. Rep. Costa made good on that promise by voting for H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act:

"Prescription drug costs are out of control and constituents in my district are suffering," said Costa. "Many are forced to choose between paying for medications they need or putting food on the table. This bill would dramatically change that. It would also benefit rural communities like those in the San Joaquin Valley by providing $10 billion in funding for community health clinics that administer essential services – from prenatal care to seniors and everything in between. Finally, it would help address health worker shortages in our Valley by supporting the training of new doctors, nurses, and technicians."

H.R. 3 helps lower drug costs for Californians and San Joaquin Valley residents and expands access to healthcare in rural communities by:

• Providing $10 billion dollars in funding for community health centers – expanding access to healthcare.
• Lowering drug costs for nearly 400,000 constituents in CA-16.
• Lowering insulin costs for 3 million Californians.
• Reauthorizing and expanding Health Profession Opportunity Grant Program (HPOG) to address health worker shortages.

H.R. 3 will also help level the playing field for American patients who pay far more than what patients abroad are charged for the same drugs by:

• Giving Medicare the power to negotiate directly with drug companies and making the lower prices negotiated by Medicare available to Americans with private insurance.
• Limiting the maximum price for any negotiated drug to be in line with the average price in similar countries.
• Creating a new, $2,000 out-of-pocket limit on prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries.
• Reinvesting savings to expand Medicare's benefits to include dental, vision and hearing; assist innovation in the search for new cures and treatments; and help combat the opioid crisis.

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