Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
House Republicans Rebel Against Pelosi's Drug Plan While Senators Release Bipartisan Bill
Modern Healthcare: Politics Threatens Drug Pricing Deal Between Congress, Trump
A congressional effort to reach a deal to lower prescription drug prices this year seemed on a path to derailment Wednesday amid political escalation on several fronts. House Republicans took a hard line against a major plan from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), in the first committee hearing on her proposal to authorize government negotiation of certain high-priced drugs. Later in the afternoon, Senate Finance Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) acknowledged his effort with ranking member Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) to get their embattled proposal on the Senate floor may not happen this year. (Luthi, 9/25)
Stat: Hearing On Pelosi’s Drug Pricing Plan Mired By Partisan Bickering
Just months after lawmakers on the Energy and Commerce Committee lavished praise on each other for passing a slew of drug pricing bills, that committee’s efforts to deal with the issue are quickly descending into partisan chaos. At a hearing Wednesday, Republicans accused Democrats of sabotaging bipartisan efforts to lower the cost of prescription drugs. At times, both parties were tripping over themselves to lob attacks and complain. And at one point, they were openly bickering about their respective speaking time. (Florko, 9/25)
Politico: Chuck Grassley: Drug Pricing Reform Key To Keeping GOP's Senate Majority
Passing a bill to control drug prices will be essential to Republicans "keeping a majority in the Senate," Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) told reporters Wednesday. But he predicted the task will probably slip into next year. Grassley said he was optimistic he could sell GOP lawmakers on the sweeping bipartisan bill he and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) developed, even though most Republicans opposed when the Finance committee advanced it on a 19-9 vote this summer. (Karlin-Smith, 9/25)
PoliticoPro: Text Of Senate Finance Committee Drug-Pricing Bill Is Released
The Senate Finance Committee released the text of its sweeping bill to reform drug pricing, S. 2543. Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has pitched the Drug Pricing Reduction Act, which the committee advanced in July on a 19-9 vote, as a bipartisan solution to high drug costs. But other Republicans have been hesitant to get on board, pointing to controversial provisions such as a measure to cap price increases in Medicare Parts B and D at the rate of inflation. (Owermohle, 9/25)
Vox: Trump Claims He Wants To Lower Drug Prices. He’ll Have To Convince His Own Party To Do It.
House Democrats’ prescription drugs bill may have just been introduced, but Senate Republicans are already over it — even as President Donald Trump keeps promising voters he wants to get something done. “Socialist price controls will do a lot of left-wing damage to the healthcare system. And of course we’re not going to be calling up a bill like that,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in an interview with Politico. Trump, meanwhile, argued that Congress should “help” lower America’s drug prices, which are some of the highest in the developed world, and gave a shout-out to both Pelosi’s proposal and another bill from Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR). (Zhou, 9/23)
CNBC: Pelosi Hopes To Work With Trump On Drug Bill Despite Impeachment Inquiry
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she still hopes to work with President Donald Trump on a bill to lower prescription drug prices even after launching a formal impeachment inquiry the day before. “I certainly hope so,” Pelosi told reporters Wednesday when asked about her drug pricing bill. (Lovelace Jr., 9/25)
CQ: Political Tensions Escalate As Drug Pricing Bills Move Forward
The discord between the parties over plans to bring down drug costs deepened this week as Democrats insisted on allowing Medicare to negotiate prices and launched an impeachment inquiry that threatens to consume Congress. Still, members of key committees said Wednesday they wanted to continue bipartisan work to lower costs, a major concern of voters, and lawmakers in both chambers took steps toward advancing their proposals. (McIntire and Clason, 9/25)
CNBC: Humana CEO: Competition Lowers Drug Prices Better Than Just Putting A Cap
Legislation that would put a cap on prices pharmaceutical companies can charge for their prescription drugs can be effective in reducing health costs, Humana CEO Bruce Broussard said Friday. But U.S. lawmakers should also include in their proposals rules that would facilitate greater competition and innovation, Broussard said in an interview with CNBC’s Bertha Coombs. (Lovelace Jr., 9/20)
In other news related to the drug-pricing issue -
CNN: Drug Prices For Seniors Once Again Rose Faster Than Inflation, Report Says
The retail price of prescription drugs commonly used by older Americans has continued to increased faster than inflation, according to a new analysis from AARP. This marks the 12th year in a row that there has been a substantial increase in prices. AARP's Public Policy Institute looked at the retail prices of 754 widely used brand name, generic and specialty drugs used by older Americans and found that the cost increased by an average of 4.2% in 2017 -- twice the rate of general inflation for that same time period. This is lower than the drug price increases observed in previous years, but it's a tepid improvement. (Christensen, 9/23)
