Press Releases

WASHINGTON – Following Department of Health and Human Service Secretary Alex Azar’s finalized drug pricing regulation, Rep. Jodey Arrington (TX-19), congratulated him and the Trump administration on their policy leadership.

“Drug costs are the fastest growing expenditures in health care, causing some seniors on fixed incomes to ration food, electricity, and even critical medical treatment,” said Arrington.

“We all agree that American seniors deserve transparency on prescription drug prices, but we have seen unacceptable gridlock and lack of political courage to enact any real reforms.  The smoke and mirrors of our current drug pricing system prevents patients from making informed choices or truly understanding what they’re paying for.

“This rebate rule will pull back the curtains on back door rebates and ensure any discounts go directly to patients. Sunlight is the best disinfectant, and I applaud HHS for taking this important step to drive down prescription drug spending for our seniors.

“Still, I am very disappointed that Congress couldn’t work together to pass drug pricing reform. For my part, I worked with my Democrat colleagues to on two pieces of legislation to lower drug prices for seniors. Both bills focused on transparency, which, in turn, provides greater accountability to insurance and pharmaceutical companies and empowers senior with more choices when shopping for their drugs.”

During the 116^th Congress, Rep. Arrington led H.R. 2115 and H.R. 3408. They passed the house in October of 2019 with bipartisan support.

Background: The rule would require pharmaceutical manufacturer rebates be provided at the point of sale, allowing patients to benefit directly from the rebate. Currently, rebates are issued to insurers rather than the patients directly.

To find more information from HHS, please click here.