Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Clinton Unveiling Plan To Curb Rising Drug Prices With Rules For Pharmaceutical Makers
The Wall Street Journal: Clinton To Propose New Rules For Drug Makers
Hillary Clinton is proposing new rules that would pressure prescription-drug companies to spend a set portion of their revenue on research and development, one of several ideas aimed at controlling the rising cost of pharmaceuticals. Her plan, to be laid out in Iowa on Tuesday, also would attempt to dissuade drug companies from spending large sums on consumer advertising by barring that from counting as a tax-deductible business expense. (Meckler and Loftus, 9/22)
The Washington Post: Clinton Proposing $250 Monthly Cap On Prescription Drug Costs For Patients
Clinton herself telegraphed the plan with a Twitter message Monday vowing to go after “price-gouging” by drug companies. She cited the nearly 5,000-percent increase in the per-pill cost of a drug to treat parasitic infections. That price hike was profit-driven, Clinton said Monday at a political rally in Little Rock, Ark. The Democratic front-runner said she would crack down on such price increases because “nobody in America should have to choose between buying the medicine they need and paying rent.” (Gearan and Goldstein, 9/22)
The Associated Press: Clinton Adds Details To Plans On Prescription Drug Costs
Health care and the rising cost of prescription drugs are expected to be a dividing line in the 2016 campaign. Clinton’s main challenger, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, has campaigned on the creation of a single-payer health care system and introduced legislation earlier this month that would allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices with pharmaceutical companies and let consumers import prescription medication from Canada, where costs are cheaper. (Thomas and Lucey, 9/22)
Politico: Hillary Clinton Taking On Drug Industry
Hillary Clinton will launch a broadside against the pharmaceutical industry on Tuesday, rolling out an aggressive plan to drive down prescription drug costs, a populist health care issue largely unconnected with Obamacare that Democrats want to position front and center in 2016. At a campaign event in Iowa, Clinton will unveil a set of proposals that her campaign says will save well over $100 billion over 10 years — taking those savings mostly from the drug industry but targeting insurers as well. (Norman, 9/22)
The Washington Post: Clinton Vows Cap On Prescription Drug Prices And No Obamacare Repeal ‘On My Watch’
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton pledged Monday to bring down the costs of prescription drugs for consumers, citing the overnight increase of one medication from less than $20 per pill to $750 per pill. “It is time to deal with the skyrocketing out-of-pocket costs and runaway prescription drug prices,” Clinton said. (Gearan, 9/21)
USA Today: Hillary Clinton Unveils Plan To Lower Prescription Drug Costs
The proposal, which she’ll outline in a speech in Iowa later today, would also allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug costs and cap out-of-pocket expenses, according to details of the plan sent out by the campaign. The plan seeks to address a key shortcoming of Obamacare, President Obama’s signature health law, as the Democratic front-runner aims to show how she would put her imprint on it. (Pryzybyla, 9/22)
Reuters: Democrat Clinton To Unveil Plan To Fight Drug 'Price Gouging'
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will unveil a plan this week to cap monthly out-of-pocket costs for specialty drugs, her campaign said on Monday, after a tweet from Clinton accusing companies of "price gouging" sent biotech stocks tumbling. (Stephenson, 9/21)
CNN: Hillary Clinton To Take On Drug Companies
Hillary Clinton will take aim at pharmaceutical companies on Tuesday when she unveils a plan to lower prescription drug prices. Clinton's plan, previewed to CNN by campaign aides, would reform the way drug companies do business, particularly by stopping them from spending government grants on advertising and by allowing Medicare -- and the U.S. government -- to negotiate down prescription drug costs. (Merica, 9/22)
The Associated Press: Biotech Stocks Fall On Clinton Vow To Fight 'Price Gouging'
Stocks of makers of biologic and "specialty" drugs plunged Monday after Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton said she'll soon release a plan to address "price gouging" in the industry. It was one of the worst days of the year for the stock market performance of the biotech industry. Clinton's announcement on Twitter followed news that drugmaker Turing Pharmaceuticals in August hiked the price of Daraprim, a 53-year-old drug for toxoplasmosis, a potentially deadly parasitic infection, to $750 per pill from $13.50. (Johnson, 9/22)
Another Democratic candidate also has questions for the drug industry --
Politico: Bernie Sanders Questions Drug Price Spike
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is calling on a drug company to justify a dramatic spike in the price of a 62-year-old drug that was reported Sunday. One day before rival Hillary Clinton is set to propose a plan to rein in high costs for specialty drugs, Sanders in a letter to Turing Pharmaceuticals demanded an explanation for why the price of a drug used to treat dangerous parasitical infections leapt from $13.50 per tablet to $750 after the company acquired the drug from a competitor. (Norman, 9/21)
