Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Mark Your Calendars: Pelosi Aide Says Long-Awaited House Drug Pricing Bill Will Drop In September
The Hill: Pelosi Aide: Major Bill To Lower Drug Prices Coming In September
A top aide to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Monday that House Democrats will unveil their long-awaited bill to lower drug prices in September. Wendell Primus, Pelosi's top health care adviser, said House leadership is almost ready to release the proposal but is opting to wait and not leave drug companies the opportunity to attack the bill during the Congressional recess next month. (Sullivan, 7/22)
CQ: Drug Price Negotiation Bill Coming This Fall, Says Pelosi Aide
Speaking at an event on drug prices hosted by the USC-Brookings Schaeffer Initiative for Health Policy, Primus also confirmed some details of the Democrats’ plan to require the government to directly negotiate prices in Medicare. Under the current system, insurers conduct negotiations on drug prices. He said the plan would only apply to drugs without competition that Medicare is spending the most money on. While he didn’t specify a minimum number of drugs that would face negotiation, he noted that 250 drugs made up the majority of spending in Medicare Part B, which covers drugs administered by physicians, and Part D, which covers drugs that seniors pick up at the pharmacy. House members and aides have previously said that the proposal would require the administration to negotiate for a minimum of 250 drugs. (Siddons, 7/22)
CQ: Senate Finance Chairman Still Deliberating On Drug Price Bill
Senate Finance Chairman Charles E. Grassley on Monday declined to commit to move a long-anticipated drug price bill forward this week, but Republicans leaving a meeting on the measure said a cost estimate predicted it would lower consumer and government costs. The bill is expected to contain provisions that would slow the growth of Medicare’s prescription drug spending, limit the cost-sharing for people receiving Medicare, and make it easier for state Medicaid programs to pay for expensive treatments. (Siddons, 7/22)
In other news from Capitol Hill —
NPR: Coal Miners Lobby Congress To Fully Fund Black Lung Tax
Dozens of coal miners are expected on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, where they'll press federal regulators and members of Congress to address the epidemic of deadly progressive massive fibrosis, the advanced stage of black lung disease. They'll ask lawmakers to fully restore a coal excise tax that pays for medical care and some living expenses for miners diagnosed with black lung, a crippling disease caused by the inhalation of coal and silica dust. The tax was cut more than 50% at the end of last year. It supports the federal Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, which is more than $4 billion in debt. (Berkes and Jingnan, 7/23)
