Mrs. Rapp went to Washington — for the second time in about a year.

State Rep. Kathy Rapp, R-Warren/Crawford/Forest, was recently invited to the White House to witness President Donald Trump sign four executive orders to decrease prescription drug costs and increase Americans’ access to life-saving medications, including insulin. At a White House ceremony Friday, Trump signed four executive orders. One was about importation. The others would direct drugmaker rebates straight to patients, provide insulin and EpiPens at steep discounts to low-income people, and use lower international prices to pay for some Medicare drugs.

The four orders would:

¯ Allow states, wholesalers and pharmacies to import FDA-approved drugs from foreign countries and sell them in the U.S. Trump has long complained that countries where the government sets the price of drugs are taking advantage of American consumers. The order includes a special provision to allow wholesalers and pharmacies to re-import insulin and biological drugs.

¯ Use the lowest price among other economically advanced countries to set what Medicare pays for certain drugs administered in a doctor’s office, including many cancer medications. This would apply to the most expensive medications covered by Medicare’s “Part B,” which pays for outpatient care. Drugmakers are particularly leery of the approach, since Democrats want to use it more broadly to allow Medicare to directly negotiate prices.

¯ Direct federally funded community health centers to pass discounts they now get for insulin and EpiPens directly to low-income patients.

¯ Ensure that rebates drugmakers now pay to benefit managers and insurers get passed directly to patients when they buy a medication. The White House last year withdrew an earlier version of the proposal, after the Congressional Budget Office estimated it would cost taxpayers $177 billion over 10 years.

“It was exciting to be there as the president signed these executive orders, which will have a direct and meaningful impact on the lives of Pennsylvanians,” Rapp said.

Also making the trip was Rep. Brad Roae, R-Crawford/Erie, who has introduced legislation in the state House of Representatives to make prescriptions more affordable.

House Bill 2737 was referred to the House Insurance Committee on Thursday. Roae said he and his staff have heard from local residents who struggle to pay for life-sustaining medications, including insulin and epinephrine. Insulin is critical for the treatment of some patients with diabetes, and epinephrine — commonly sold as and referred to as an EpiPen.

Many health insurance plans require a patient to meet his or her deductible before they will cover the cost of these medications. Roae’s bill would change that by treating life-sustaining medications similar to preventive care. Patients would not need to meet their deductible before their health insurance would cover the cost of the life-sustaining medication.

“This necessary legislation would bring immediate relief to those constituents who struggle every month to afford medications,” Roae wrote in his legislative memorandum. “Additionally, the cost-savings for individuals who avoid additional health care services as a result of being compliant with their medication are anticipated to offset any minor cost to health insurance plans.”

Americans remain worried about drug costs, with nearly 9 in 10 saying in a recent Gallup-West Health poll that they’re concerned the pharmaceutical industry will take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to raise prices. Another Gallup-West Health survey found 65% saying the Trump administration had made little or no progress limiting increases in prescription drug costs. It’s a particularly important issue for older people, who rely on medications to manage the medical problems associated with advancing age. Trump’s support has eroded among the elderly during the haphazard federal response to COVID-19.