WHEREAS, Seniors and all Americans will pay less for their prescription drugs when the House legislation H.R. 3, The Lower Drug Costs Now Act becomes law, empowering the government to negotiate lower prices and lowering out of pocket costs, a huge step toward helping retirees and all Americans afford their medications, and

WHEREAS, Americans pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs, and

WHEREAS, each month more and more seniors are not filling their prescriptions or skipping doses because they simply cannot afford them, and

WHEREAS, this bill ensures that the prices Americans pay for the most expensive drugs are in line with the lower prices of the same drugs in other countries, and

WHEREAS, seniors who need more medications to stay healthy will get immediate relief thanks to the $2,000 annual cap on out of pocket costs, a great improvement over current law, and

WHEREAS, the Secretary of Health and Human Services will be allowed to negotiate lower prices for as many as 250 of the most expensive drugs covered by Medicare — including insulin — and those lower prices will be available to all insurance plans in the country, and

WHEREAS, pharmaceutical corporations that refuse to come to the negotiating table will be required to pay steep, escalating penalties on their gross sales that could cost them billions of dollars,

WHEREAS, seniors and retirees can’t wait.

BE IT RESOLVED that the UFT urges its affiliates — NYSUT, the AFT, and the NEA, as well as the affiliates of the NYC and NYS Central Labor Council — and its members to strongly support this bill and urge the House and Senate to pass it immediately.