1. United States
2. Colo.
3. Letter

HB6703, the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act, proposes mandatory transparency in pharmacy benefit management and prescription drug pricing. While transparency has merit, this legislation represents another incremental approach that fails to address the fundamental dysfunction of our healthcare system. I urge you to reject half-measures and instead support Medicare For All to establish universal healthcare coverage. HB6703 would require group health plans and pharmacy benefit managers to submit detailed semi-annual reports on prescription drug spending, rebates, and compensation structures. The bill mandates reporting on wholesale acquisition costs, manufacturer rebates, and out-of-pocket expenses for drugs exceeding ten thousand dollars in spending or ranking in the top fifty highest-spending medications. Implementation would begin for plan years starting January 1, 2027, thirty months after enactment. This approach is fundamentally flawed. The legislation imposes substantial administrative burdens on health plans and pharmacy benefit managers, requiring sophisticated data systems to track thousands of prescription drugs across multiple therapeutic classes and dispensing channels. These compliance costs will inevitably be passed to consumers through higher premiums, directly undermining the bill's stated cost-reduction objectives. The eighteen-month regulatory timeline is insufficient for developing standardized reporting formats, and civil monetary penalties of up to one hundred thousand dollars for false information could apply to inadvertent errors in complex reporting. More critically, transparency alone does not guarantee lower costs. Pharmacy benefit managers may lose negotiating leverage with drug manufacturers once rebate information becomes public, potentially increasing net drug costs. Meanwhile, millions remain uninsured or underinsured, facing medical bankruptcy and delayed care. Medicare For All would eliminate the complex web of pharmacy benefit managers, insurance middlemen, and administrative waste that HB6703 attempts to regulate. Universal coverage would provide comprehensive healthcare to every American while reducing overall costs through simplified administration and enhanced negotiating power. Stop wasting time and taxpayer money on incremental fixes. Support Medicare For All legislation to establish universal healthcare coverage now.