Malliotakis introduces bill to lower prescription drug costs, increase access to telehealth

Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/South Brooklyn), has sponsored a bill that would lower the cost of prescription drugs and increase telehealth services for mental health appointments.

Malliotakis, who is a member of the House Committee on Ways and Means, said the bill -- co-sponsored by Reps. Buddy Carter (R-GA) and Lisa Blunt-Rochester (D-DE) -- passed the full committee with bipartisan support and will be included in the committee’s Preserving Telehealth, Hospital, and Ambulance Access Act.

The bill would would delink Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) compensation from the cost of medications and increase price transparency, as well as protect mom and pop pharmacies by lowering the cost of prescription drugs for consumers, said Malliotakis. She maintains that this policy will save taxpayers roughly $700 million and help reduce seniors’ out-of-pocket drug costs.

“When it comes to PBMs, there’s little to no transparency on their practices, and they’re making a lot of money by charging inflated prices for medicine, pocketing the profits and dictating what their competitors are able to make in the process,” Malliotakis said.

“Because of this, mom and pop pharmacies in my district are being crushed, and the inflated costs are being passed down to consumers. I’m pleased to see the Ways and Means Committee push this commonsense language forward so we can protect patients from the exploitative pricing techniques of predatory PBMs and work to make prescription drugs more affordable,” she added.

Said Dr. Mayank A. Parikh of Super Health Pharmacy in Pleasant Plains: I am very grateful Congresswoman Malliotakis is taking a stand against the Pharmacy Benefit Managers who are running a monopoly. They are widening their moat, while the rest of the community pharmacies are drowning, and the quality of healthcare to the patients is suffering.”

Also included is language Malliotakis introduced in partnership with Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) and Susie Lee (D-NV), that would remove in-person requirements for behavioral health services delivered via telehealth.

“The utilization of telehealth services has only increased since the pandemic, and now, in a post-pandemic world where more than 20% of Americans, including more than three million New Yorkers, are battling mental health issues, we should be doing everything we can to continue expanding access to this critical care,” said Malliotakis.

Malliotakis said the Preserving Telehealth, Hospital, and Ambulance Access Act would:

• Preserve patients’ access to care in the home by removing in-person requirements, geographic restrictions and expanding practitioners ability to bill or be reimbursed for telehealth services;

• Sustain access to hospitals and emergency services in urban, rural, and super-rural areas through FY25;

• Offset spending through new payment and reporting systems.