Senate’s Proposed Package To Target High Drug Prices Is A Big Overhaul That Comes With Even Bigger Questions

Stat: 6 Questions About Lawmakers’ Latest Drug Pricing Plan 
The Senate Finance Committee’s new bipartisan drug pricing package has the potential to change Medicare more dramatically than almost any piece of health care policy in the last 20 years. But with that big of an overhaul comes even bigger questions. The package, which was unveiled Tuesday, fundamentally reworks the complicated scheme used to split Medicare drug costs between the government, patients, insurers, and drug makers. It caps how much Medicare patients can pay out of pocket for drugs each year, and it imposes strict limits on how much drug makers can hike their prices. (Florko, 7/24)

Modern Healthcare: 5 Ways The Senate's Drug-Pricing Bill Would Change Provider Pay
The Senate's major proposal to cut drug prices is roiling Washington's pharma lobbying world, but with the sectors of the U.S. healthcare system so deeply entwined, hospitals and doctors would see some financial changes too, as the package would save more than $100 billion over a decade. Here are five ways the legislation from Senate Finance Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and ranking member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) bleeds into the provider world. (Luthi, 7/24)

The Hill: Azar Calling GOP Senators To Back Grassley Drug Price Plan 
Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar is calling Republican senators to encourage them to vote for a bill to lower drug prices being considered on Thursday in the Senate Finance Committee, according to sources familiar with the matter. The calls from Azar are a sign of the Trump administration’s support for the bipartisan deal between Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), amid blowback from some in the GOP. (Sullivan, 7/24)

Stat: Some Senators Seek To Water Down Drug Pricing Bill In Flood Of Amendments
Lawmakers will wade through more than 100 potential amendments when the Senate Finance Committee takes up its sweeping new drug pricing package on Thursday. Some of the amendments could significantly rework the package, like an amendment from Sens. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) that would eliminate the controversial provisions in the bill that would restrict drug makers from raising prices beyond the rate of inflation. A separate amendment from Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) would only allow that provision to go into effect if HHS certifies it won’t lead to higher launch prices. (Florko, 7/24)

Des Moines Register: Grassley Prescription Drug Plan Faces Hurdles On Left And Right
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley has a warning for fellow Republicans: If they kill his new compromise bill to rein in prescription drug costs, they’re likely to see President Donald Trump back more radical ideas pushed by Democrats. “I assume that if the Republicans can’t accept this moderate position … then something’s going to get done with the president throwing in with (Nancy) Pelosi,” Grassley said in a phone interview Wednesday, referring to the Democratic speaker of the House. (Leys, 7/24)

CQ: Finance Members File Dozens Of Amendments To Drug Price Bill
Senate Finance Committee members filed 110 amendments ahead of Thursday’s markup of a measure to reduce spending on prescription drugs in Medicare and Medicaid, demonstrating the intense interest in a proposal projected to save $100 billion over a decade. It’s unlikely that all of the amendments will be offered, but lawmakers will likely highlight concerns about the bill's impact on the drug industry, doctors and patients. Finance Chairman Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, is also expected to release a modified version of the draft released Tuesday that incorporates some changes his colleagues were seeking. (Siddons and Clason, 7/24)