Collins bill would reduce cost of prescription drugs
Business, News February 13, 2019
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresssman Doug Collins reintroduced key legislation last week aimed at lowering the cost of prescription medication and increasing transparency in the drug pricing process. Introduction of this legislation comes after President Donald Trump called on Congress to directly address the rising cost of prescription drugs during his State of the Union address.
H.R. 1035, the Prescription Drug Price Transparency Act, requires greater transparency and accountability from Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs).
H.R. 1034, the Phair Pricing Act, lowers the cost of prescription medication for patients in the Medicare Part D program.
“For too long, we have turned a blind eye as pharmacy middlemen have manipulated drug prices to maximize their profit margin. The Prescription Drug Price Transparency Act will protect patients and pharmacies by increasing transparency over the drug pricing process, providing greater oversight to protect taxpayer dollars, and ensuring patients are able to choose their pharmacy,” said Rep. Collins.
“By requiring price concessions between pharmacies and middlemen be included at the point of sale, the Phair Pricing Act will guarantee patients at the pharmacy counter directly benefit from lower costs allegedly negotiated on their behalf.”
As middlemen in the pharmacy industry, PBMs determine which drugs are covered under federal programs including Medicare Part D, Medicare Advantage Part-D, and FEHBP. They maintain Maximum Allowable Cost (MAC) lists, which set the maximum reimbursement rate given to community pharmacies for drugs covered by federal programs. PBMs often take advantage of their role as middlemen by delaying price updates to maximize their profit margin while pharmacies are forced to sell prescriptions at a loss.
H.R. 1035 increases drug pricing transparency and accountability by accomplishing the following:
Ensures MAC pricing lists are updated every seven days for Medicare Part D, Medicare Advantage Part-D, and FEHBP;
Preserves pharmacy access for patients by protecting their ability to choose a pharmacy;
Requires PBMs disclose sources used in MAC price determinations;
Provides greater oversight to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer funds in Medicare Part D, Medicare Advantage Part-D, and FEHBP.
There is a clear gap between reality and the claims that pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and prescription drug plan (PDP) sponsors negotiate with pharmacies on behalf of patients. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), PBMs and PDP sponsors often use these pharmacy rebates and price concessions to pad their profits instead of lowering the price patients pay for medications, which is the stated purpose of the rebates and price concessions.
H.R. 1034 protects patients and provides greater oversight by accomplishing the following:
Requires all price concessions between a pharmacy and PBM be included at the point of sale to decrease patient’s costs.
Realigns market incentives to ensure patients have access to and receive the best possible care.
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a working group of stakeholders to create quality measures based on a pharmacy’s practice.
Ensures PBMs disclose all fees, price concessions, and programs to CMS.
Background: Rep. Collins introduced both the Prescription Drug Price Transparency Act and the Phair Pricing Act in the 115th Congress.
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Congressman Doug Collins and Blue Ridge Business Owners Talk Pro-Growth Policies
Politics, State & National February 27, 2018
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The Music Modernization Act Will Provide a Needed Update to Copyright Laws
State & National January 12, 2018ICYMI: The Music Modernization Act Will Provide a Needed Update to Copyright Laws
WASHINGTON—This op ed by Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) first appeared in The Hill on January 11, 2018.
I spent my northeast Georgia youth replaying tracks from “Bat Out of Hell” and “Hotel California.” And, of course, staples from Steely Dan. I welcomed the evolution from the 8-track to cassette to CD, but the LP and 45 vinyl predate even me. So, I was stunned to learn, as a member of the House Judiciary Committee—which has jurisdiction over intellectual property rights—that some of the copyright law governing music licensing was actually designed to regulate the player piano and has endured more than a century without meaningful update.
An overview of the music licensing landscape reveals that the status quo isn’t serving industry stakeholders, so the question becomes one of sustainability. Can music lovers count on a robust pipeline of tunes to carry them into the future? Absent substantive changes to the system that has disenfranchised creators, songwriters, publishers and even digital providers have their doubts. But efforts to unify these creators, digital streaming services and other key players around a path forward have faltered until recently. Very recently.
This December, countless hours of collaboration and cooperation came to fruition in a compromise that would be the most substantial update to copyright law since 1998. Today, our jeans pockets are more likely to be lined with iPhones than lint balls, yet the laws that currently regulate how tech giants like Spotify pay songwriters were cemented before the concept of digital streaming was born. The Music Modernization Act (MMA) would literally usher copyright laws into the 21st century.
The bill tackles four dimensions of music licensing. First, the bill addresses the fact that digital music companies regularly fail to pay songwriters and copyright owners properly for interactive streaming services. The trouble often arises from inefficiencies and information gaps.
Tech companies like Amazon Music, Spotify, and Google Play frequently file bulk Notice of Intentions (NOIs) with the Copyright Office that allow them to obtain a license for music for which they can’t locate ownership information. Since this process became available in 2016, some estimated 45 million NOIs have been filed with the Copyright Office.
This “bulk NOI” shortcut has taken millions of dollars in income out of the pockets of songwriters who rely on streaming services to find the proper owners of music and issue those owners prompt and appropriate payment. It’s also left tech companies legally exposed when they use music without knowing or paying its owners.
The MMA renovates the NOI process so that music creators get paid and digital companies reduce their liability and increase operational efficiencies. The legislation would establish a Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) that would accurately compensate songwriters for the mechanical royalties they earn through interactive streaming. In exchange, the collective would afford digital providers—which would fund the collective—with blanket usage licenses for songs.
The MLC would accomplish this by providing the digital services with efficient access to the information they need in order to know which songwriters to pay for which songs. Though songwriters have never had a seat at the music licensing table, both publishers and songwriters would sit on the board of the MLC to ensure it operates transparently.
The MMA also provides songwriters a chance to get fair-market mechanical royalty rates (the rate paid for the reproduction and distribution of a song) in the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) proceedings that set those rates every five years. As it stands, songwriters can’t set prices for their own work. Instead, CRB judges determine royalty rates based on an outdated test that has depressed rates for decades. The MMA changes the standard the board uses to a “willing buyer/willing seller” consideration. In other words, the CRB would set the rates to reflect the market value of the corresponding use of a song.
Finally, the bill improves the process through which performance royalty rates (the rate paid to song writers when their music is played for an audience) are set for BMI and ASCAP, the two largest performance rights organizations. Currently, ASCAP and BMI cases are each assigned to a respective judge. The MMA would implement a rotation of the judges who decide ASCAP and BMI cases and would enable the rate court judges to consider relevant market-based evidence when determining performance rates for songwriters. Again, this change moves the industry toward a fairer, freer market for music licensing, and that benefits music creators, music providers and music lovers alike.
The MMA is unprecedented not only for what it sets out to do, but for who has signed on. The Digital Media Association (DiMA)—representing Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Pandora, Rhapsody, Spotify and YouTube—and the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA)—representing U.S. music publishers and songwriters—both support the bill.
Songwriters groups including ASCAP, BMI, the Nashville Songwriters Association International, Songwriters of North America and others have also welcomed this legislation as a compromise that benefits a cross-spectrum of stakeholders.
So, too, have labels and artists, as reflected in the support of the Recording Industry Association of America, American Association of Independent Music, American Federation of Musicians, Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, SoundExchange and the Grammys.
Knowing that today’s music ecosystem suffers under heavy-handed government intervention and defunct copyright policy, I’m grateful that my colleagues Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) look past partisanship toward solutions that will take music licensing from the dark ages into the digital age.
The agreement that creators and digital providers have struck also testifies to the leadership of Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), who made copyright reform a priority for the House Judiciary Committee. As we look forward to a markup of the Music Modernization Act in the coming weeks, the question is not whether we have a viable resolution to an industry stalemate but whether we have the resolve to see that agreement through. I believe we do.
Rep. Doug Collins has represented Georgia’s 9th District since 2013. He is the Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference and a member of the Judiciary and Rules Committees.
ICYMI: House Tax Reform Plan Focuses on US Workers
State & National November 7, 2017
ICYMI: House tax reform plan focuses on US workers
WASHINGTON—This op ed by Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) first appeared in the Gainesville Times on November 5, 2017.
Last Thursday introduced Northeast Georgians to what the House, Senate and president have been collaborating on since January: A conservative tax reform bill that makes the first meaningful improvements to the tax code since 1986, when I was a student at what was then North Georgia College and an intern on Capitol Hill.
Since then, time has passed and tax policy has changed, but not for the better. As pundits tackle the details of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, I want my neighbors to be confident knowing what conservatives are doing through tax reform and, perhaps more importantly, why we’re taking these steps.
The legislation the House has introduced focuses on replacing America’s labyrinth of a tax code with a plan driven by fairness, simplicity and opportunity. The IRS has reached its tentacles deep into the pockets of American workers and families to feed a bloated federal government.
I’d like to cut off those tentacles and allow everyday Americans to keep more of the money they earned by the sweat of their brows. I believe that comprehensive tax reform, specifically the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, is the answer to our country’s economic malaise. Our friends across the aisle disagree. Why?
There are two possibilities that explain why someone would oppose President Donald Trump’s call for middle-class tax reform. The person either doesn’t believe that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will actually bring relief to families and job creators or doesn’t think empowering working Americans represents a worthy goal.
Those who claim that our tax plan pads the wallets of the wealthy at the expense of middle America already have been refuted by The Washington Post, which investigated claims that this legislation would raise taxes across the middle class. Senate Democrats tattooed their false claims all over Twitter, and even the mainstream media awarded those claims with “four Pinocchios.” In fact, a family of four earning the median annual income of $59,000 would see their tax burden drop by $1,182, from $1,582 to $400.
To use another example with our community in mind, a firefighter with a $48,000 income would move from the 25 percent income tax bracket to the 12 percent bracket and see his standard deduction double from $6,350 to $12,000. Under this plan, his tax bill would fall to $3,872 from $5,173, and he could invest the $1,301 difference in building his own American dream.
Meanwhile, we’ve raised the Child Tax Credit from $1,000 to $1,600 per child and included $300 credits for adult dependents. We’re getting rid of loopholes in the tax code and killing the death tax, which targets family farms and businesses with double-taxation. We’re reducing the corporate rate from an unsustainable 35 percent to 20 percent so that businesses will bring jobs back home.
And I’m inviting you to fact check us. Anyone can read the text of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and other resources at fairandsimple.gop.
If the Republican tax plan actually does deliver tax relief to middle class filers—and it does—and if it does level the global playing field to allow businesses to close up their shops across the ocean and drop deep roots into American soil, then why would anyone oppose it? Because their objection isn’t practical. It’s ideological.
America’s economy remains the most productive in the world, and the American worker is the foundation of that economy. Conservatives who embrace tax reform want to ensure that hardworking Americans enjoy and invest more of what they earn because we trust them. We recognize that the American worker is industrious and innovative, and that’s what fuels our economy.
Liberals, on the other hand, don’t trust their fellow Americans to make good choices. They believe we have no hope outside of bureaucrats. So their logic demands that they fight to keep control of Americans and their money. Tax reform upsets Democrats because they want to make the government bigger, and they want to use their neighbors’ paychecks to do that.
President Trump and I believe that America’s greatness comes from free people making free choices in a free market. Democrats think its greatness comes from big government. They think Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer hold the keys to Gainesville’s success.
In reality, though, Democrats have no hope to offer northeast Georgians because they have no confidence in northeast Georgians (or in most Americans, for that matter). And while the president and Republicans in the House are working to make America stronger, to preserve our position as world leader, liberals want to apologize for what American workers have built and to undermine what their neighbors value.
The last administration tried to spend and stimulate its way to economic success, and we call those eight years the Great Recession. In contrast, conservatives in the House are spending this weekend telling their constituents we recognize that America’s future depends on her workers and families, rather than on Washington.
That’s why our tax reform plan insists that we make our neighbors the agents of their futures once again. We’re offering Americans tax relief today because that’s how we can build a stronger tomorrow.
Doug Collins represents Georgia’s 9th District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Rep. Collins: “Speaker Will Keep Us Through Christmas” for Tax Bill
GMFTO, News, Politics October 16, 2017
9th Congressional district Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) spoke exclusively to FYNTV on Friday’s edition of Good Morning From the Office. Collins spoke on a multitude of issues, from the executive actions regarding Obamacare, to his personal crusade for adequate internet service and competition in rural Northeast Georgia. However, his remarks regarding tax reform were quite revealing. According to Collins, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) has informed House members that he will keep the House in session, if necessary, throughout the Christmas recess in order to pass tax reform.
The tax question is asked around the 11:00 minute mark of the FULL INTERVIEW below.
BKP: From the House side, will we get tax reform?
Rep. Collins: Yes. I feel very comfortable, in fact, it is the top priority for us in leadership, and the speaker. In fact, the speaker put us on notice yesterday (Thursday) that he would keep us through Christmas or any other holiday to make sure it gets done this year. It was very disturbing to hear some members of the Senate saying “Well, we gotta negotiate, it may be the first of the year” No. It’s time to get behind the American people, time to get behind the President and pass tax reform. It’s way past due.
Media Update: Collins Helps Pass Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act
Politics, State & National October 4, 2017
Collins Helps Pass Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act
WASHINGTON—Today the House passed H.R. 36, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) co-sponsored.
Science has demonstrated that unborn children can feel pain 20 weeks after conception, and the bill would prohibit abortions once the fetus has reached that age. Fifteen states, including Georgia, have passed laws that parallel this federal bill, while many others currently allow providers to perform abortions on older babies.
“When modern medicine leads doctors to administer anesthesia to children at 20 weeks’ gestation, basic integrity gives us no way to ignore their personhood. Science leaves us no room to justify their slaughter, and our founding fathers leave us no path to disregard their right to life,” said Collins.
“Every liberty that my colleagues and I fight for is predicated on our right to life, and this bill ensures that unborn, pain-capable individuals enjoy this most basic of our American freedoms. By passing the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, we recognize and defend humanity at its most vulnerable, and I’m thankful to have the opportunity to help move this bill forward today.”
The bill will now go to the Senate for consideration, and President Trump has said that he will sign the bill into law if given the opportunity.
In addition to voting for the bill, Collins defended it on the House floor.
A TEAM OF PROGRESSIVES & A CONGRESSMAN WITH TEAM THAT SHOW UP TO TALK
Featured, Politics February 28, 2017
A TEAM OF PROGRESSIVES & A CONGRESSMAN WITH TEAM THAT SHOW UP… to talk
In a time that senators and representatives decline to meet with constituents and constituents march, chant, yell, and raise signs from frustration, the pattern was broken last Saturday morning in Gainesville’s District 9 offices of Representative Doug Collins.
Doug Collins showed up with staff and met with 14 people who did homework with the support of many at home who contributed research. The discussion lasted approximately 90 minutes after introductions were made. There were differences between the point of views expressed. No surprise. Constituents and Congressman were from two very different ways of thinking about the role of government. However, the discussion included both listening and time to deliver points of view. It is not practical, or interesting, to provide a verbatim record here. The key issues discussed were:
1. ACA. The stories of District 9 friends and neighbors, progressive and conservative, who depend on ACA to stay alive as well as avoid bankruptcy from healthcare were reviewed. Collins agreed that continuous coverage and coverage of kids under 26 should be part of the plan. Providing affordable access to healthcare was referred to often, but specific solutions were not committed to. Collins holds the position that free market solutions will offer more choices at a lower cost over time. Current plans published indicate that free market solutions may not be as beneficial to those with lower incomes when compared to those with higher incomes.
2. ENVIRONMENT. The constituent group expressed concern about the dilution and reduction of EPA controls. The thought of pipelines running under District 9 streams, of gouged deforested mountain tops, of Copper Hill type of consequences illustrated the concern of loss of control of regulations and oversight. Collins believes state control is, and would continue to be more effective than national controls. Constituents reminded the Congressman that the air is national, that the flow of water is national, that oils spills in the ocean cannot be governed by any one state. We agreed to disagree and learn more.
3. THE RUSSIANS AND TAXES. Collins, a member of the House Committee on the Judiciary, was asked to support the appointment of a Special Prosecutor for an unbiased investigation of the President’s and executive branch staff Russian connections as well as the disclosure of the President’s tax returns. The objective is to clear the air and move on. Collins believes this can be accomplished with a Congressional committee.
4. A WALL VS. PEOPLE OF DISTRICT 9. Time ran out but this topic was the closing line in a leave behind letter signed by participants. Spending $12-15 billion for a wall on the southern border at the expense of
heath care coverage for the people of District 9 is a bad choice. The team clearly supports using tight budget to take care of people first.
Lumpkin County Election Results
News, Politics May 24, 2016
General Primary Election Results
With 100% of Precincts Reporting
May 24, 2016
U.S. House 9th District
Doug Collins 50,272
Paul Broun 18,045
Roger Fitzpatrick 8,667
Mike Scupin 2,795
Bernie Fontaine 2,269
State Senate, 51st District
Steve Gooch 20,595
John Williamson 7,562
County Commission Chair
Chris Dockery 2,089
Doug Sherrill 1,692
County Commission Dist. 1
David Miller 2,150
Bill Scott 1,430
County Commission Dist. 2
Bobby Mayfield 1,511
Steve Shaw 1,187
DJ Wight 556
Carlton Smith 428
Board of Education, Dist. 1
Mera Turner 1,668
Catherine Ariemma 1,152
Jay Sessions 1,141
9th District Congressional Candidates on FYN’s Candidate Day
Election, Politics May 23, 2016
Mike Scupin, Roger Fitzpatrick, Paul Broun, Doug Collins, and Bernie Fontaine speak on FYN’s Candidate Day for the citizens on the eve of the election day.
Lumpkin County Republican Party 51st State Senate District, 9th Congressional District, and U.S. Senate Forum
Politics May 1, 2016
Lumpkin County Republican Party Forum 4/30/2016.
Scroll down to watch video of each forum.
Republican Primary U.S. Senate Candidates Dr. Mary Kay Bacallao and Mr. Derrick Grayson
Republican Primary 51st District State Senate Candidates John Williamson and Steve Gooch
Republican Primary 9th Congressional District Candidates Roger Fitzpatrick, Paul Broun, Bernie Fontaine and Mike Scupin
Tuesday is Deadline to Register for May Primary
News, Politics April 24, 2016
LUMPKIN COUNTY, Ga. — Much is at stake in state and local elections May 24 but you can’t vote if you’re not registered and the last day to register is Tuesday, April 26.
One of the most important races is in the 9th District where incumbent U.S. Congressman Doug Collins of Gainesville has come under fire from conservatives for his support of President Obama’s Omnibus bill. His challengers include former 10th District Congressman Paul Broun, Lanier Tea Part Patriots founder Mike Scupin, White County educator Roger Fitzpatrick and retired Army and National Guard Brigadier General Bernie Fontaine.
State Senator Steve Gooch of Dahlonega is running for re-election in the 51st District and has drawn a challenger in John Williamson, co-founder of the Gilmer CountyTea Party.
Several key races highlight local elections. Board of Commissioners Chairman Chris Dockery has drawn a challenger in current District 1 Commissioner Doug Sherrill. Dr. David Miller and Bill Scott will compete the seat being vacated by Sherrill. There is a four-way race for District 2 Commissioner where the candidates are incumbent Steve Shaw, Bobby Mayfield, Carlton Smith and D.J. Wight.
In the race for District 1 Board of Education, the candidates are Catherine Ariemma, Jay Sessions and Mera Turner.
Scupin & Fontaine Jointly Ask FEC to Investigate Collins and Collins Campaign Citing Evidence of Purposeful Violations
Politics April 12, 2016
Below is the press release from Hank Sullivan. 9th District Congressional Candidates Mike Scupin and Bernie Fontaine send a letter to the Federal Election Commission concerning Congressman Doug Collins and the Collins campaign.
Today, Georgia 9th District candidates for US House of Representatives Mike Scupin and Bernie Fontaine signed a joint letter of complaint to the Federal Election Commission in Washington, DC, citing evidence that US Representative Doug Collins, his campaign and campaign consulting firm, The Stoneridge Group, have knowingly and willingly violated FEC regulations regarding the FEC requirement of attaching campaign disclaimers to all public communications authorized and paid for by a candidate or his/her campaign committee. The letter asks for a full investigation of Collins and the Collins Campaign, including Collins’ campaign consultant.
The joint letter, which can be found below, and a companion video, cites evidence of three recent instances in which the Collins Campaign, including Rep. Collins personally, and his campaign consultant The Stoneridge Group(SRG), have used a proprietary news and commentary website known aswww.zpolitics.com, owned and operated by the founder and owner of SRG, to offer paid Collins campaign materials to an unsuspecting public, resulting in a process of information laundering, posturing these paid campaign materials as objective news and commentary, and with no campaign disclaimers as the FEC requires, rather than as part of a political campaign supporting Collins in his bid to be reelected 9th District US Representative.
The letter released jointly by Scupin and Fontaine offers solid evidence of these FEC violations and asks for the FEC to perform a full investigation regarding the involvement of the Collins campaign, including Collins himself, Collins’ campaign staff, Collins’ campaign consultant SRG, SRG’s owner Jason Williams and the workings of Williams’ personally-owned and operated website, Zpolitics.com.
The letter can be read below:
Hall County GOP 9th District Congressional Debate. Doug Collins, Paul Broun, Mike Scupin, Roger Fitzpatrick, Bernie Fontaine
Politics April 9, 2016
Paul Broun FetchYourNews.com
Mike Scupin FetchYourNews.com
Roger Fitzpatrick FetchYourNews.com
Doug Collins FetchYourNews.com
Bernie Fontaine FetchYourNews.com
