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December 12, 2019

House Passes Trone-Backed Bill to Lower the Cost of Prescription Drugs on Maryland Families

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Hannah Muldavin, Hannah.Muldavin@mail.house.gov 

House Passes Trone-Backed Bill to Lower the Cost of Prescription Drugs on Maryland Families

Bill Includes Trone Provision to Fund the Fight Against the Opioid Epidemic

Washington, DC – Today, the House of Representatives passed the Trone-backed H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, which would lower drug costs for more than 600,000 individuals in Maryland’s 6th District. The bill also included legislation authored by Trone to provide $10 billion in federal funding to combat the opioid epidemic.

“Marylanders and Americans are being ripped off by the skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs, and it’s time we put an end to this corrupt practice,” said Rep. David Trone. “This bill will save everyday Americans money and allow us to invest in fighting the opioid epidemic and new innovative solutions at the NIH. H.R. 3 finally puts the American people ahead of the interests of big drug companies.”

H.R. 3 would allow the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to negotiate lower prices for drugs and caps annual out-of-pocket costs for seniors. A report released by Trone earlier this week  found that this legislation, if signed by the President, could result in Maryland residents spending 3.5 times less on insulin and lower costs for breast cancer medication, leukemia medication, and prostate cancer medication by 65%, 71%, and 66%, respectively.

H.R. 3 also makes a $10 billion investment to fight the opioid epidemic, including $7.5 billion for State Opioid Response (SOR) Grants, which provide funding directly to states, counties, cities, and towns to reduce overdose related deaths through prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts. In May, Trone introduced a bipartisan bill to provide funding for SOR grants for five years.

Congressman David Trone was elected to the House of Representatives in November 2018 to serve the 6th District of Maryland, which includes all or part of Montgomery, Frederick, Washington, Allegany, and Garrett Counties. In November, Trone held a roundtable in Gaithersburg on the high cost of prescription drugs. The roundtable featured several constituents who wrote to Trone about their personal struggles affording prescription drugs.  Trone serves on the Education and Labor, Foreign Affairs, and Joint Economic Committees, where he is fighting to make progress on issues that matter to Marylanders, including the opioid epidemic, criminal justice reform, and funding for medical research. 

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