Rep. Driscoll Speaks at American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network’s Virtual Lobby Day

On Wednesday, April 6th Representative Bill Driscoll Jr. spoke at American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network’s (ACS CAN) virtual Lobby Day highlighting bill H. 1069, An Act empowering health care consumers.

The Representative joined his colleagues in addressing ACS CAN volunteers on H.1069 as well as legislation relating to step therapy and funding included in the FY 2023 budget for the Massachusetts Tobacco Cessation and Prevention program.

If passed, An Act empowering health care consumers will assure that patients are provided with as much information as possible when selecting health insurance so that they are adequately informed on their health care. At this time when selecting health insurance, patients can clearly see what their out-of-pocket expenses or co-pays will be for emergency room visits, wellness visits, and sick visits to the doctor, but prescription costs are not always as explicit or easily accessible. The purpose of this bill is to specify those out-of-pocket costs for prescriptions, and guarantees customer access to:

Health care plan prescription drug information before a plan is purchased, including the list of drugs covered
Cost to the patient in real dollars
Any steps a patient must take for it to be covered by the plan

The bill will also ensure that consumers are aware of the utilization management tools at each level of coverage in order to have a complete understanding of the selected coverage.