Sen. Toomey introduces legislation to reduce drug costs for seniors

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) recently introduced a bill that aims to reduce the price that seniors pay for prescription drugs.

“Medicare’s prescription drug program limits insurers from providing seniors with plans that best fit their needs,” Toomey said. “My bill with Senator Crapo aims to address this by encouraging insurers to develop and offer a greater variety of prescription drug plans to seniors.”

The Encouraging Innovative Benefit Design to Lower Costs for Seniors Act would require the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to increase the maximum number of plan options from three to at least four in each region. It would also allow Medicare Part D sponsors to offer two additional plans if at least one of them passes on rebates to the consumer.

“Medicare Part D is a successful program, operating on the free-market principles of choice and competition,” Crapo said. “Our legislation would build on that proven foundation by expanding the number of plan options and incentivizing innovative benefit designs. When we empower patients to make decisions, they can select the health care plan that best fits their needs. I will continue to work with my colleagues to advance policies that would lower drug prices, expand patient access to lifesaving medicines and encourage biopharmaceutical innovation.”