Dr. Miller-Meeks Leads Bipartisan Bill to Lower Healthcare Costs of Patients

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), Tom Kean, Jr. (R-NJ), Nanette Barragán (D-CA), Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) reintroduced the Help Ensure Lower Patient (HELP) Copays Act to make life-saving prescription medications more affordable for patients with rare, serious, and chronic conditions.

The bill requires insurance companies and Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) to count copay assistance—whether from nonprofits, drug manufacturers, or other third parties—toward a patient’s deductible and annual out-of-pocket limit. Under current law, insurers can pocket this assistance while still forcing patients to pay the full cost-sharing amount themselves.

Congresswoman Miller-Meeks said, “Too many patients are forced to walk away from the pharmacy counter because their out-of-pocket costs are simply too high. The HELP Copays Act is a commonsense, bipartisan solution that ensures financial assistance actually counts toward a patient’s deductible and copay. As a physician, I know how devastating it is when a patient can’t afford the medication they need. This bill puts patients first by lowering their real day-to-day costs and stopping insurance companies from shifting more of the burden onto families.”

Congressman Tom Kean, Jr. said, “Copay assistance programs help make costly medications attainable for Americans who rely on them. Yet under current law, insurers and PBMs can pocket this assistance without lowering patients' cost-sharing obligations. Our bipartisan legislation will fix that problem by ensuring those savings are passed on to patients. This solution will protect access to essential prescription drugs, reduce overall healthcare costs for families, and hold these health companies accountable.”

Rep. Barragán said, “For patients living with complex and chronic diseases, access to prescription drugs that help them manage their condition saves lives, plain and simple. But too many Americans are unable to afford the medications they need because the out-of-pocket costs are too high. This is unacceptable. Americans work hard every day to make sure they can feed their families and take care of their loved ones. They should not be priced out of receiving the life-saving medications they rely on. That is why I am proud to co-lead, the HELP Copays Act, with Congressman Kean. This bipartisan bill will help working American families afford their prescriptions by putting a stop to harmful practices by insurance companies and Pharmacy Benefit Managers, and ensuring that patients’ copay assistance counts towards their cost-sharing requirements. Because drug affordability is not a blue-state issue or a red-state issue — it is an issue that affects tens of millions across the country and in every state.”

Congressman Auchincloss said, "Drug pricing middlemen want patients to pay deductibles twice. That’s not how insurance should work. With this bill, those schemes stop."

Congressman Fitzpatrick said, “For people living with chronic and rare diseases, copay assistance is often the only path to staying on lifesaving treatment. Yet far too many are paying twice, while insurers and PBMs pocket that assistance without ever counting it toward a patient’s costs. That’s wrong—and it’s exactly what the bipartisan HELP Copays Act corrects. This is common-sense, patient-first reform to lower out-of-pocket costs and ensure every dollar intended to help a patient actually does.”

The HELP Copays Act ensures that:

• Financial assistance paid by or on behalf of a patient must be applied to their cost-sharing requirements.
• Any prescription drug covered by a health plan is treated as an “essential health benefit,” ensuring all related cost-sharing counts toward patient limits.

The legislation is endorsed by the All Copays Count Coalition, representing nearly 90 national patient and provider advocacy organizations.

The full text of the House bill is available HERE. An identical companion Senate bill (S.864) was introduced by Senators Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Tom Kaine (D-VA) in March 2025

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