U.S. House Vote to Lower Prescription Drug Prices Will Help Stabilize Costs for Small Business

“We're glad the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3, the Lower Prescription Drug Costs Now Act, today. Addressing the high cost of prescription drugs will help bring more stability to the pricing of health coverage in the marketplaces, which is beneficial to small employers and entrepreneurs, health insurers and the healthcare system overall.

The U.S. has made great gains in helping the small business community gain comprehensive health insurance, with 5.7 million solo entrepreneurs and small business employees enrolled in the marketplaces. However, in order to continue this progress, we must address affordability and underlying costs that impact the price of coverage.

This issue is harming small employers as they respond to drastic increases in pharmaceutical prices. Indeed, our national scientific opinion polling found more than 8 in 10 small business owners say their prescription drug copays have increased in recent years, and they’re being forced to manage these increasing costs by either shifting some of the higher costs to their employees or absorbing the higher costs themselves. It should come as no surprise then that most small business owners believe prescription drug prices are too high.

H.R. 3 will help address this by allowing the Department of Health and Human Services to negotiate pricing on up to 250 drugs per year, and by making lower drug prices negotiated by Medicare available to all Americans, among other measures. We know solutions like these are strongly supported by small business owners: Our polling found 85% of small business owners believe the federal government should be able to negotiate with drug companies to secure lower prices on prescription drugs for people on Medicare. An additional 90% believe prescription drugs that are developed with taxpayer dollars should be made affordable to every American.

We strongly urge the U.S. Senate to take up this legislation and help small businesses that continue to struggle with healthcare costs and rising prescription drug prices. This is an issue with broad bipartisan support that needs to be addressed now."