WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) joined a bipartisan group of their colleagues in a letter – led by Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) – urging the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Labor (DOL), and the Department of the Treasury to lower out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs by enforcing a rule limiting the use of harmful “copay accumulators.” Copay accumulators prevent copay assistance from counting towards a patient’s deductible or out-of-pocket maximum, which makes it harder for patients to afford their medications.
“This decision is an important step in the right direction for low-income and other eligible patients who rely on manufacturer and nonprofit copay assistance programs to alleviate affordability and access challenges for their medicines,” the senators said.
“Instead of appealing the court’s ruling, we urge you to adopt policies from the 2020 NBPP [Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters] that strike the right balance of preserving a plan’s ability to control costs while also putting the patient first,” the senators continued.
In addition to Senators Capito, Kaine and Marshall, the letter is signed by Senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), John Boozman (R-Ark), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.).
Full text of the letter is available here.
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