{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://barragan.house.gov/2025/12/19/press-release-reps-barragan-kean-jr-miller-meeks-auchincloss-fitzpatrick-and-watson-coleman-re-introduce-legislation-to-protect-patients-from-high-prescription-drug-costs/", "PRESS RELEASE: Reps. Barrag\u00e1n, Kean, Jr., Miller-Meeks, Auchincloss, Fitzpatrick, and Watson Coleman Re-Introduce Legislation to Protect Patients from High Prescription Drug Costs", "2025-12-19", "2025", "2025-12", "Democrat", "House", "CA", "Nanette Diaz Barrag\u00e1n", "B001300", "barragan.house.gov", "barragan", "https://barragan.house.gov/news", "scraper", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\n\nDecember 19, 2025\n\nContact: Jin.Choi@mail.house.gov\n\nReps. Barrag\u00e1n, Kean, Jr., Miller-Meeks, Auchincloss, Fitzpatrick, and Watson Coleman Re-Introduce Legislation to Protect Patients from High Prescription Drug Costs\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Congresswoman Nanette Barrag\u00e1n (CA-44) joined Representatives Tom Kean, Jr. (R-NJ), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) to reintroduce the Help Ensure Lower Patient (HELP) Copays Act to make life-saving prescription medications more affordable for patients with rare, serious, and chronic conditions.\n\nThis bipartisan legislation would require insurance companies and Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) to count the value of copay assistance they receive on a patient\u2019s behalf toward cost-sharing requirements. This change ensures that payments, whether they come directly out of a patient\u2019s pocket or with help from non-profit organizations and prescription drug manufacturers, contribute toward a patient\u2019s annual deductible and out-of-pocket limit.\n\nRep. Barrag\u00e1n said, \u201cFor patients living with complex and chronic diseases, access to prescription drugs that help them manage their condition saves lives, plain and simple. But too many Americans are unable to afford the medications they need because the out-of-pocket costs are too high. This is unacceptable. Americans work hard every day to make sure they can feed their families and take care of their loved ones. They should not be priced out of receiving the life-saving medications they rely on. That is why I am proud to co-lead, the HELP Copays Act, with Congressman Kean. This bipartisan bill will help working American families afford their prescriptions by putting a stop to harmful practices by insurance companies and Pharmacy Benefit Managers, and ensuring that patients\u2019 copay assistance counts towards their cost-sharing requirements. Because drug affordability is not a blue-state issue or a red-state issue \u2014 it is an issue that affects tens of millions across the country and in every state.\u201d\n\nCongressman Tom Kean, Jr. said, \u201cCopay assistance programs help make costly medications attainable for Americans who rely on them. Yet under current law, insurers and PBMs can pocket this assistance without lowering patients\u2019 cost-sharing obligations. Our bipartisan legislation will fix that problem by ensuring those savings are passed on to patients. This solution will protect access to essential prescription drugs, reduce overall healthcare costs for families, and hold these health companies accountable.\u201d\n\nCongresswoman Miller-Meeks said, \u201cToo many patients are forced to walk away from the pharmacy counter because their out-of-pocket costs are simply too high. The HELP Copays Act is a commonsense, bipartisan solution that ensures financial assistance, from nonprofits or drug manufacturers, actually counts toward a patient\u2019s deductible and copay. As a physician, I know how devastating it is when a patient can\u2019t afford the medication they need. This bill puts patients first by lowering their real, day-to-day costs and stopping insurance companies from shifting more of the burden onto families.\u201d\n\nCongressman Auchincloss said, \u201cDrug pricing middlemen want patients to pay deductibles twice. That\u2019s not how insurance should work. With this bill, those schemes stop.\u201d\n\nCongressman Fitzpatrick said, \u201cFor people living with chronic and rare diseases, copay assistance is often the only path to staying on lifesaving treatment. Yet far too many are paying twice, while insurers and PBMs pocket that assistance without ever counting it toward a patient\u2019s costs. That\u2019s wrong\u2014and it\u2019s exactly what the bipartisan HELP Copays Act corrects. This is common-sense, patient-first reform to lower out-of-pocket costs and ensure every dollar intended to help a patient actually does.\u201d\n\nSpecifically, the HELP Copays Act would:\n\nClarify the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to require that health plans count payments made \u201cby or on behalf of\u201d patients, including financial assistance offered by non-profit organizations and prescription drug manufacturers, toward cost-sharing requirements.\n\nClose the ACA\u2019s Essential Health Benefit (EHB) loophole to ensure that any covered prescription drug is defined as \u201cessential\u201d so that all related cost-sharing counts towards a patient\u2019s cost-sharing limits.\n\nThe full text of the House bill is available HERE. An identical companion Senate bill (S.864) was introduced by Senators Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Tom Kaine (D-VA) in March 2025.\n\nThe legislation is endorsed by the All Copays Count Coalition, a group of nearly 90 national patient and provider advocacy organizations. Read their press release HERE and endorsement letter in support of the bill HERE.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://barragan.house.gov/2025/12/19/press-release-reps-barragan-kean-jr-miller-meeks-auchincloss-fitzpatrick-and-watson-coleman-re-introduce-legislation-to-protect-patients-from-high-prescription-drug-costs/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7392438128590584, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}