West Health, a group of nonprofit, nonpartisan organizations dedicated to lowering healthcare costs, said the “Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act,” or H.R. 3, could result in hundreds of billions of dollars in lower commercial health insurance costs by 2030.
H.R. 3 was proposed in September 2019 by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and would let the HHS secretary directly negotiate prices with drugmakers and make those prices available to all Americans with private insurance. The House passed the bill in December 2019, but progress was stalled when the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020. House Democrats reintroduced the bill in April.
To conduct its analysis, West Health partnered with actuarial firm Milliman to analyze the impact of the legislation on stakeholders. To estimate dollar savings for individuals and employers, the organization used data from National Health Expenditures, the Kaiser Family Foundation Employer Health Benefits Survey and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.
The Congressional Budget Office released an analysis in 2019 estimating the bill would save Medicare $456 billion over the course of a decade, but prevent eight new drugs from coming to the market. West Health’s analysis is the first to estimate the bill’s effect on private insurance.
Find West Health’s full analysis here.
At the Becker's 11th Annual IT + Revenue Cycle Conference: The Future of AI & Digital Health, taking place September 14–17 in Chicago, healthcare executives and digital leaders from across the country will come together to explore how AI, interoperability, cybersecurity, and revenue cycle innovation are transforming care delivery, strengthening financial performance, and driving the next era of digital health. Apply for complimentary registration now.