{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.heller.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=65064C01-7E70-4DCE-98EE-A81086DA3FDA", "U.S. Senate Unanimously Passes Bipartisan Heller-Backed Bill to Help Lower the Cost of Prescription Drugs", "2018-09-05", "2018", "2018-09", "Republican", "House", "NV", "Dean Heller", "H001041", "www.heller.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  The U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Know the Lowest Price Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and co-sponsored by U.S. Senator Dean Heller (R-NV), that is aimed at saving Nevadans money on their prescription drugs by cracking down on a practice that blocks pharmacists from telling customers they could pay less for their prescription if they pay out of pocket.\r\nCurrently, pharmacy gag clauses can be used to prevent pharmacists from proactively notifying patients that they could pay less for their prescription medications if they were to pay out of pocket rather than using their insurance. As a result, many consumers overpay for their medications. For example, it's been reported that a medication to treat diabetes or high blood pressure may cost consumers who are paying with insurance around $20, however, the same medications may only cost $8-$15 if the consumer pay cash. In fact, a recent report found that customers overpaid for prescription drugs at the pharmacy counter 23 percent of the time.\r\nNevadans work hard for their money, and they shouldn't be ripped off when they go to pick up their medications that they rely on, said Senator Heller. The Know the Lowest Price Act will help save Nevadans money by banning a practice that has led to too many patients overpaying for their medications. I'm proud that the U.S. Senate approved this bipartisan proposal, and I'll continue working with my colleagues to lower health care costs and see that this commonsense bill is signed into law.\r\nThe Know the Lowest Price Act cracks down on this practice by prohibiting Medicare Part D Plans from restricting a pharmacy's ability to provide drug price information when there is a difference between the cost of the drug under the plan and the cost of the drug when purchased without insurance.\r\nIt's wrong that a person overpays for their medication simply because their pharmacist is not allowed to tell them they could pay a lower price with cash instead of insurance, said Senator Stabenow. Our bill bans this outrageous practice that hurts Michigan families and seniors. It takes an important step toward lowering the skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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://www.heller.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=65064C01-7E70-4DCE-98EE-A81086DA3FDA"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0563568212091923, "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"}