Currently, US residents pay more for prescription drugs than residents of any other country in the world. According to the United Way’s ALICE Report, “46% of Florida’s 7,792,605 households” struggle to “make ends meet”. Florida is currently ranked 32nd in the nation for the percentage of households in poverty (nearly 13% and rising due to the COVID pandemic) and 34th in the nation for the number of children living in poverty (17.4%). Approximately 13% (or 2,792,400) of Florida residents currently do not have health insurance. Even with insurance prescription drugs are often too costly for most US residents to afford.

H.R.3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, is legislation that establishes programs and requirements to lower drug costs. It gives Medicare the power to negotiate drug prices and allows for lower drug prices to be available for people with private insurance and/or no insurance. It also creates a $2000 out-of-pocket limit for those who are on Medicare and Medicaid.

Please write your members of Congress and ask them to pass H.R.3 if it comes to them in committee or on the floor. We need lower prescription drugs today!