There is a common saying that goes, “If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” We tend to rely on tools that are familiar and easily accessible. This is certainly true for lawmakers in Tallahassee. Legislators see a problem, real or perceived, and they want to pass a law that fixes it.

Passing laws without accounting for their full consequences doesn’t hit the nail on the head! In fact, it often does more harm than good. This is true of the newly proposed health care law SB 1550 / HB 1509. Health care is a sector already drowning in red tape and excessive regulations and SB 1550 / HB 1509 would add new, counterproductive government mandates that raise prescription drug costs for small businesses, large employers, seniors, and Florida families.

Before they act, lawmakers should look for solutions to high prescription drug costs that focus on encouraging real competition and advancing free-market principles, not passing more regulations that result in higher costs to all of us.

In recent years, Florida lawmakers have made positive steps to reduce health care red tape, like increasing access to telehealth and expanding roles for advanced registered nurse practitioners, and it would be a shame to reverse that trend now. SB 1550 / HB 1509 would increase health care and prescription drug costs for employers by restricting their ability to use lower-cost pharmacy options in their health plans. Higher health care costs for job-creators makes it more difficult for them to offer good paying jobs with competitive benefits.

The proposed law would take choices away from patients by preventing their employers from covering certain pharmacies. Today patients can take advantage of low-cost programs that provide home delivery of prescriptions. This service is especially important for seniors and other patients who may have mobility and transportation restrictions, and helps patients stay on their long-term therapies to improve their health. The current bill would unfortunately restrict these options.

More health care regulations this year would mean additional costs for employers at a time when they can ill afford it. Last fall, the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions released a survey showing just how significant a concern health care is for small and large employers alike. An overwhelming 82 percent majority of employers agreed that rising health care costs impact their ability to remain competitive. Increased health care costs also clearly have negative consequences for employees: 73 percent of employers agreed that rising health care costs directly or indirectly crowd out salary or wage increases for their workers. When it comes to cost-drivers, 9 in 10 employers said drug prices pose a significant threat to the affordability of employer-provided health coverage for employees and their families.