On February 6, 2023, the federal Help Ensure Lower Patient (HELP) Copays Act (H.R. 830) was reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representative Earl “Buddy” Carter (R-GA) and referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. This bipartisan legislation requires health insurance plans regulated by the federal government to count the value of copay assistance for covered prescription drugs toward patients’ cost-sharing obligations (i.e., deductible and out-of-pocket maximum). CBSA has thanked Representative Diana DeGette (D-CO) for cosponsoring this important bill, along with Representatives Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), and Yvette Clarke (D-NY).
The new H.R. 830 is essentially a reintroduction of 2021’s HELP Copays Act (H.R. 5801), which was introduced November 2021, but failed to progress out of committee.
What does the HELP Copays Act do?
