Fact sheet on Healthcare Policy Paper

Fact sheet for Lower Health Care Costs Act

Lower Health Care Costs Act (S.1895) is a legislation that was sponsored and introduced into the Senate by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) on 19th June 2019. It seeks to reduce the cost of health care by introducing cost-sharing for medical services while prohibiting billings above the recommended rates. Besides that, the bill seeks to advocate for dissemination of information, establishment of grant programs, and limiting pharmacy charges. Also, the bill seeks to change the minimum legal age for tobacco products purchase from 18 to 21 (Congress.Gov, 2020; GovTrack, 2020). Fact sheet on Healthcare Policy Paper

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The bill addresses seven legislative intents. The first intent is to introduce cost sharing measures that make health care more affordable while eliminating surprise medical bills. It presents the requirement for emergency and related non-emergency services provided by out-of-network providers to be subjected to set cost sharing rates similar to in-network providers. The second intent is to expedite pharmaceutical drugs approvals with a focus on increasing availability of biosimilars and generics that are lower priced so that Americans spend less on prescription drugs. The third intent is to itemize charges at billing to improve accountability. The fourth intent is to limit pharmacy prices/charges. The fifth intent is to establish grant programs. The sixth intent is to ensure that the public has comprehensive information on insurance costs. The seventh intent is to reduce the use of tobacco products among young Americans by raising the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products (Congress.Gov, 2020; GovTrack, 2020).

Figure 1. Changes made by Lower Health Care Costs Act

In passing the bill, the public would be protected from exploitation even as health care costs are lowered. It protects them from exploitative health care bills and insurance costs by improving transparency so that members of the public are aware of the costs and can conduct comparisons to identify cheaper options. In addition, it protects young Americans by reducing their access to tobacco products (Milstead & Short, 2019).

References

Congress.Gov (2020). S.1895 – Lower Health Care Costs Act. https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/1895

GovTrack (2020). S. 1895 — 116th Congress: Lower Health Care Costs Act. https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/116/s1895

Milstead, J. & Short, N. (2019). Health Policy and Politics: A Nurse’s Guide (6th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning. Fact sheet on Healthcare Policy Paper