Washington at night Opponents of the drug pricing bill contend that provisions meant to hold down drug costs would discourage pharmaceutical companies from developing new drugs to fight terrible diseases.(Credit: iStock)

The drug cost bill that passed in the U.S. House Thursday could lead to big changes in the original Medicare program.

House members passed H.R. 3, the "Elijan E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act" bill, by a 230-192 vote.

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Allison Bell

Allison Bell, a senior reporter at ThinkAdvisor and BenefitsPRO, previously was an associate editor at National Underwriter Life & Health. She has a bachelor's degree in economics from Washington University in St. Louis and a master's degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She can be reached through X at @Think_Allison.