Express Opposition to House Bill 21

Letter to the Editor – Polk County Enterprise

To the Editor:

As the owner of a small business in Texas, I am writing to express my opposition to proposed legislation (House bill 2180) that will drive up the cost of pharmaceutical drugs for most Texans.

HB 2180 mandates and encourages a practice known as “point of sale rebates” in pharmaceutical sales. While it sounds well-intentioned (everyone likes rebates), the bill is an unproductive exercise in cost-shifting. It allows the 3—5% of Texans who purchase the most expensive, brand name drugs to claim rebates at their pharmacy; but those rebates are subsidized by the other 95% of Texans who use generic and less pricey drugs. Furthermore, it increases the cost of employer-sponsored pharmacy benefits those small businesses like mine offer to their employees.

For years, the legislature has layered expensive new mandates onto our health care system, driving up the cost of health care and drugs for most Texans. Obviously, this impacts family budgets and in many cases the health and wellbeing of our residents. It is also making it harder and harder to run a successful business in the Lone Star state. Expensive health care mandates make it more difficult for me to pay my employees fair wages, purchase necessary supplies and equipment and ultimately stay afloat.

I urge Texans concerned about rising health care costs and their impacts on the business community – as well as families and parents – to contact their lawmaker and express opposition to HB 2180.

David Garcia
Cleveland, TX