Policy letters and testimony

The Build Back Better Act includes two provisions that will greatly improve access to important preventative vaccines for our most vulnerable populations.

The bipartisan HELP Copays Act requires health plans to count the value of copay assistance toward patient cost-sharing requirements. This would bring much-needed relief to financially vulnerable individuals by ensuring that all payments—whether they come directly out of a patient’s pocket or with the help of copay assistance—count towards their out-of-pocket costs.

Adoption of the HELP Act will ensure vulnerable patients who struggle to afford their essential specialty medications will be able to meet the high copays and co-insurance, get their prescriptions at the pharmacy counter, and maintain their health.

The Help Ensure Lower Patient Copays Act addresses the harmful policy increasingly implemented by insurance plans to accept a patient’s copay assistance but not apply it to the patient’s deductible and out-of-pocket cost obligations thus leaving patients with large unanticipated costs.