Rep. Slotkin Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Lower Prescription Drug Prices

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (MI-08) and U.S. Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX) today introduced the Real-Time Benefits Act, a bipartisan bill that would help lower out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs by giving patients and doctors real-time updates on the price of prescription drugs, before they leave the doctor's office. By increasing price transparency, the bill also encourages competition to help bring drug costs down across the board.

Lowering prescription drug prices has been a top priority of Slotkin's since taking office. Slotkin, who founded constituent-led district advisory boards to help inform legislation that best addresses 8th district residents' concerns, worked in direct consultation with her healthcare and seniors district advisory boards in crafting this bill to bring down out-of-pocket costs.

Right now, not only do certain brands and generics offer cheaper alternatives for the same drug, but different pharmacies often charge different prices for the same drug. And neither health care providers nor patients know where to find the most affordable option, or how much the patient will pay out-of-pocket when they get to the pharmacy.

This means that patients could be paying significantly more out of pocket, when they could have had access to a cheaper drug all along. In fact, nearly 1 in 5 Americans report that they have not filled a prescription due to its cost.

The Real-Time Benefits Act ensures that the patient know the cost of the drug before they leave the doctor's office by:

• Requiring Medicare Part D plans to integrate an electronic real-time benefit tool into all e-prescribing systems to deliver real-time information to prescribers while the patient is still in the office. The tool takes into account patients' insurance plan and displays out-of-pocket costs for a comprehensive list of clinically appropriate alternatives.

• Requiring that plans display out-of-pocket costs for the same medication at a variety of nearby pharmacies, which allows the physician to advise the patient is getting the lowest cost possible for their prescriptions and saving the patient from being "surprised" by any additional costs at the pharmacy, thus lowering the risk that the patient decides to opt out of picking up their prescriptions due to an unanticipated cost.

• Increased transparency in the cost of prescription drugs under individual insurance plans and the out-of-pocket price patients will be charged at different pharmacies may increase competition and help bring drug costs down across the board.

"Lowering the skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs is one of the top issues 8th district residents ask me about," Slotkin said. "I know this is an area where Democrats and Republicans share common ground, and I've been working since I was sworn in to find bipartisan solutions to bring costs down. That's why I couldn't be more proud to introduce a bipartisan bill that injects much-needed transparency into our system to ensure patients and doctors can always access the most affordable drugs."

"The Real-Time Benefits Act will have a real effect on how much seniors in particular are paying for their prescription drugs, and will introduce a dose of healthy competition to our system to bring prices down for everyone," she added.

"Many of the medications I prescribe have a sense of urgency behind them," says Dr. Farhan Bhatti, a Lansing-based family physician. "Patients' lives depend on them starting those medications without any delay. Knowing how much my patients will have to pay for a medication will enhance patient safety by greatly reducing the time between when the prescription is written in my clinic and when it is actually taken by the patient. It will save my patients and staff from countless hours over the phone trying to find alternate treatments that my patients can afford."

"For too long, Medicare patients have been unfairly subjected to an opaque and confusing process for choosing the right drug at the right price," said Rep. Arrington. "This bill eliminates that obscurity by empowering patients with the critical information they need through consumer friendly, real-time benefit tools, allowing them to reduce their own out-of-pocket prescription costs and avoid surprise costs at the pharmacy. Importantly, this legislation does not add any additional administrative burdens for health care providers and strengthens the doctor-patient relationship by giving seniors the resources they need to have even better-informed conversations with their doctors."

"Marketplace innovation thrives when consumers, not the government, are free to choose the best option for their needs and their budget. This legislation will provide both greater clarity and increased choice to American patients when making decisions with their doctors about treatment options, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to help deliver the transparency that patients and providers alike deserve."