{"id":1413446,"date":"2022-03-31T16:00:21","date_gmt":"2022-03-31T20:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1413446"},"modified":"2022-03-31T16:00:24","modified_gmt":"2022-03-31T20:00:24","slug":"house-to-vote-on-democrat-insulin-bill-viewed-as-election-boon-for-raphael-warnock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-to-vote-on-democrat-insulin-bill-viewed-as-election-boon-for-raphael-warnock\/","title":{"rendered":"House to Vote on Democrat Insulin Bill Viewed as Election Boon for Raphael Warnock"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhouse-to-vote-on-democrat-insulin-bill-viewed-as-election-boon-for-raphael-warnock%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1413446&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p class=\"subheading\">The House will soon vote on a Democrat bill that would cap the price of insulin, which is viewed by Republicans as a cynical ploy to boost Sen. Raphael Warnock\u2019s (D-GA) reelection chances.<\/p>\n<p>The House will reportedly vote on H.R. 6833, the Affordable Insulin Now Act, on Thursday. The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), would <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/117th-congress\/senate-bill\/3700\">cap <\/a>the cost-sharing under private health insurance for a month\u2019s supply of insulin at $35 or 25 percent of the plan\u2019s negotiated price starting in 2023. The bill would also cap the cost of insulin under Medicare to $35 or 25 percent of the plan\u2019s negotiated price.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>The bill is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/117th-congress\/senate-bill\/3700\/cosponsors\">co-sponsored <\/a>by 34 Senate Democrats, and not one Republican has backed the bill.<\/p>\n<p>A Republican aide told Breitbart News that this legislation serves nothing more than a cynical attempt to help reelect Warnock.<\/p>\n<p>The aide said, \u201cThis is a cheap bumper sticker slogan to try to get Warnock elected, not a serious solution to a serious problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>House Republican leadership recommended a vote against the legislation, contending that it would expand government control over Americans\u2019 health care and result in less access to life-saving treatments.<\/p>\n<p>House Republican leadership issued a leadership recommendation on Wednesday, urging Republicans to oppose the bill, explaining:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Leadership recommends a NO vote. Affordable Insulin Now Act<br \/>Instead of working in a bipartisan way to address the root causes of high out-of-pocket costs for insulin, Democrats are reviving their price control agenda by mandating Part D plans and private insurers cover selected insulin products at a government-imposed price cap of the lesser of $35\/month or 25 percent of the negotiated price.\u00a0 This approach, like H.R. 3 and provisions included in Build Back Better (BBB), is another attempt to expand government control over patients\u2019 health care.\u00a0 Government control and price controls will result in fewer cures and less access for Americans to doctors and drugs \u2013 including life-saving treatments.<br \/>\u2022 This provision was included in the Democrats\u2019 failed BBB and represents the largest expansion of federal command and control in Americans\u2019 private health insurance design since Obamacare.<br \/>\u2022 Allows manufacturers to raise the prices of insulin without scrutiny, leading to higher costs for patients through increased premiums and higher cost-sharing on insulin products that are not price controlled by the bill.<br \/>\u2022 CBO estimates the legislation would increase costs by about $11 billion and the bill uses a budget gimmick to offset the cost by delaying the Trump Administration\u2019s rebate rule for one additional year.<br \/>\u2022 Fails to reform the convoluted rebate system so patients will continue to pay higher prices on all other drugs at the pharmacy counter.<br \/>\u2022 Republicans have introduced a bipartisan alternative, H.R. 19, which would lower all prescription drug costs, including insulin, and cap all seniors\u2019 out-of-pocket spending on drugs while ensuring America continues to lead the world in innovation and access to cures and treatments.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>A Republican Education and Labor, Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means Committee joint messaging document obtained by Breitbart News said the bill relies on budget gimmicks and would raise costs through increased premiums and higher cost-sharing:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li><span dir=\"ltr\">Higher Prices for Insulin:<\/span><span dir=\"ltr\"> Democrats\u2019 bill allows manufactures [Sic] to raise the prices of insulin without scrutiny,<\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">leading [Sic] to higher costs for patients through increased premiums or higher cost-sharing.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span dir=\"ltr\">Fewer Low-Cost Options: <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">This bill will decrease the number of generic insulins on the market.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span dir=\"ltr\">Imposes Costly Drug Mandates: <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">Mandates private insurers cover selected insulin products at a<\/span><br \/><span dir=\"ltr\">government-imposed price cap of the lesser of $35\/month or 25 percent of the negotiated price.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span dir=\"ltr\">Spends $1.5 Million on Bureaucrats: <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">Appropriates $1.5 M to CMS in FY 2022 to administer these new<\/span><br \/><span dir=\"ltr\">provisions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span dir=\"ltr\">Uses a Budget Gimmick to Delay a Trump Admin Rule that \u201cFinds\u201d Money Simply by Delaying Regulations:<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span dir=\"ltr\">$9 billion slush fund: <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">Adds the remaining nearly $9 billion in purported savings to the Medicare<\/span><br \/><span dir=\"ltr\">Improvement Fund (MIF), which Democrats will likely spend on other partisan priorities.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span dir=\"ltr\">Requires Medicare Part D plans (including Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plans) to face a<\/span><br \/><span dir=\"ltr\">coverage mandate and to remove application of the deductible to applicable insulin expenses and<\/span><br \/><span dir=\"ltr\">caps monthly patient spending at no more than $35.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span dir=\"ltr\">Democrats\u2019 price control legislation will cost over $11 billion to the federal government, with higher<\/span><br \/><span dir=\"ltr\">premiums paid for by higher subsidies.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span dir=\"ltr\">For one additional year, further delays the Trump administration rebate rule (which would lower out-of-<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Several healthcare and conservative organizations, including the ERISA Industry Committee, National Federation of Independent Businesses, Freedomworks, Americans for Tax Reform, Americans for Prosperity, National Taxpayers Union, Association of Mature American Citizens, Heritage Action for America, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, and the Partnership for Employer-Sponsored Coverage, oppose the bill.<\/p>\n<p>Heritage Action Executive Director said in a statement:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>If Congress mandates government price controls for insulin, they will be stifling research, reducing the creation and availability of life-saving insulin formulations, and inserting government between patients and their doctors. Instead, Congress should pursue effective free-market reforms to reduce the price of prescriptions for\u00a0<em>all<\/em>\u00a0Americans.<\/p>\n<p>The answer to high drug prices is less government overreach, not more. In a competitive free market unburdened by unnecessary FDA regulation, insulin prices could be a fraction of their current cost. It\u2019s up to Congress to get out of the way.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>FreedomWorks President Adam Brandon <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freedomworks.org\/content\/key-vote-no-affordable-insulin-now-act-hr-6833\">said <\/a>in a key vote alert about the bill:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>While progressives are all too eager to blame high prices on \u201ccorporate greed,\u201d the reality is that this is an issue created by the federal government. Heavy-handed price controls are a deeply flawed solution that misses the mark when identifying the problem.<\/p>\n<p>Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) play a significant role in the dramatic rise in the cost of prescription drugs. PBMs are third-party administrators determining which drugs go on formularies (a list of approved prescription drugs that hospitals can prescribe and are covered under an insurance policy). Ostensibly, PBMs negotiate to obtain the best price. However, these \u201csavings\u201d are often pocketed by PBMs themselves and aren\u2019t passed onto patients. Since they are reimbursed based on the markdown from the original list price, PBMs are incentivized to prioritize drugs with higher list prices, so they can receive a larger markdown.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThis legislation is a simplistic proposal to address a highly complex problem. We cannot afford half-hearted proposals based on unsound economics like this one for an issue that impacts so many,\u201d Brandon added.<\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p><i>Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter\u00a0<\/i><a class=\"x5l\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SeanMoran3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\"><i>@SeanMoran3<\/i><\/a><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The House will soon vote on a Democrat bill that would cap the price of insulin, which is viewed by Republicans as a cynical ploy to boost Sen. Raphael Warnock\u2019s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1413446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1413446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1413446"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1413446\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1413446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1413446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1413446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}