Advocacy Alert: HELP Copays Act

Posted May 7, 2023

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Last year, lawmakers banned accumulator adjusters in New York! This bill, while incredibly important, only protects patients and families on NY ACA Marketplace plans. In order to protect families on employer-provided insurance, federal legislation is needed.

The United States Senate will soon consider S. 1375, the Help Ensure Lower Patient (HELP) Copays Act. This federal legislation would ensure that all copays count for all patients across the country, regardless of the type of insurance they have.

These reforms will help people with bleeding disorders, and other costly health conditions, afford their medications and stay on their treatment regimens.

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S. 1375 Help Ensure Lower Patient (HELP) Copays Act

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Hello,

I am writing on behalf of people with bleeding disorders in New York State and the National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF) to ask the Senator to co-sponsor S. 1375, the Help Ensure Lower Patient (HELP) Copays Act.

This legislation requires health plans to count the value of drug copay assistance toward patients’ cost-sharing requirements. The legislation also closes a loophole that some employer-provided health plans exploit in order to limit coverage for specialty drugs. These protections would help people with bleeding disorders and other serious health conditions who face unaffordable cost-sharing for their life-saving medications.

In March, you met with advocates from the National Hemophilia Foundation about HR 830. Since then, Senators Kaine and Marshall have introduced the Senate companion, S. 1375, with the goal of having it included in the upcoming HELP Committee mark-up on PBMs.

Governor Hochul signed similar legislation in December to help protect patients and families across NYS, but that legislation only applies to ACA plans, leaving the roughly 50% of New Yorkers with employer-provided health insurance vulnerable to these harmful practices. I’m asking the Senator to consider co-sponsoring this crucial bill to ensure that patient assistance can actually assist patients, both here in NY and across the country.

Thank you so much for your consideration.

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