Simultaneous House, Senate Hearings On High Drug Prices Set The Stage For Pharma’s New Reality On Capitol Hill
The pharmaceutical industry was put on notice Tuesday when two powerful congressional committees placed high drug prices firmly at the top of their agendas. “Drug companies make money hand over fist by raising the prices of their drugs — often without justification and sometimes overnight — while patients are left holding the bill," said House Oversight and Reform Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) at the House hearing. Over in the Senate, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) was adamant about bringing drug company executives in front of lawmakers to answer questions on high costs.
The New York Times:
On Both Ends Of Capitol, Both Parties Warn Big Pharma On Drug Prices
Members of Congress from both parties served notice on pharmaceutical companies on Tuesday that the days of unchecked drug-price increases were over and that they would be held politically accountable for exorbitant prices. The new reality became apparent at simultaneous but separate hearings of House and Senate committees where lawmakers said that the relentless increases were unsustainable and unacceptable. (Pear, 1/29)
Stat:
In Dueling Drug Pricing Hearings, Lawmakers In Both Parties Slam Pharma
Democrats here have, of late, been making far more noise about high prescription drug prices. But at two dueling hearings on Tuesday, the most powerful Republicans on each committee made their own mark. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee and a former chairman of the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus, kicked off his panel’s hearing by offering his support for a controversial proposal that would inflame drug makers: to potentially cut the lucrative exclusivity periods the government grants drug makers for their products. (Facher and Florko, 1/29)
Reuters:
Congress Holds First Hearings On Insulin, High Drug Prices
The House Oversight Committee, chaired by Democratic Representative Elijah Cummings, and the Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, brought in patient advocates and health policy experts to discuss the burden of high drug costs on consumers and sky-rocketing prices. Both committees also focused on insulin, which those with type 1 diabetes and some with type 2 diabetes depend on. (Abutaleb, 1/29)
The Associated Press:
GOP Senator Pledges Insulin Probe As Congress Holds Hearings
A senior Republican lawmaker said Tuesday he plans to investigate spikes in the price of insulin for people with diabetes as Congress opened hearings on the high cost of prescription drugs. "I have heard stories about people reducing their life-saving medicines, like insulin, to save money," said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa. "This is unacceptable and I intend to specifically get to the bottom of the insulin price increase." (Alonso-Zaldivar, 1/29)
The Hill:
GOP Chairman: I'll Be 'Insistent' On Drug Companies Testifying On Their Prices
Grassley said he invited drug companies to testify at Tuesday’s hearing, but all except two smaller companies refused to testify publicly, instead saying they would speak in private. He declined to name the companies that refused to come when asked by reporters after the hearing.
Asked if he would compel companies to testify by issuing subpoenas, Grassley demurred, but indicated he will get the testimony. (Sullivan, 1/29)
Modern Healthcare:
Medicare Drug-Pricing Changes Discussed By Senators
The Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday signaled interest in bolstering key points in the Trump administration's drug-pricing blueprint, including potential structural reforms for Medicare Part B and Part D. Senators from both sides of the aisle waded into a proposal highly unpopular with physicians and hospitals, aimed at removing the incentive for providers who administer drugs under Medicare Part B to prescribe the most expensive option. (Luthi, 1/29)
CQ:
House, Senate Panels Begin Hearings Seeking Drug Cost Solutions
Both hearings Tuesday featured witnesses whose children rationed insulin after they struggled with its costs. Kathy Sego, speaking on behalf of the American Diabetes Association before the Finance Committee, told senators her son Hunter once had to pay $1,700 for a month’s supply. The price of insulin tripled between 2002 and 2013, according to the association. (Siddons and Clason, 1/29)
Bloomberg:
Harvard Study Finds Older Insulins Are Safe As Well As Cheaper
With little fanfare, a private Medicare delivery system owned by insurer Anthem Inc. moved thousands of elderly patients with diabetes from costly new insulin drugs such as Sanofi’s Lantus to older and cheaper insulin products. The health system saved millions. But many of the patients ended up better off financially, too: Fewer of them hit the Medicare coverage gap, where patients pay a significant portion of the costs. While blood sugar increased slightly on average, there was no rise in emergency-room visits or hospitalizations from dangerously low or high blood sugar. (Langreth, 1/29)
Cleveland Plain Dealer:
Ohio Mom Implores Congress To Reduce Prescription Drug Prices
Antroinette Worsham’s oldest daughter, Antavia, died of diabetes complications after she turned 21 and was no longer eligible for an Ohio Department of Health program that subsidized the cost of the insulin she needed to survive, which cost $333 per month. Wearing a red “Patients over Profit$” T-shirt, the Cincinnati mom on Tuesday implored the House Oversight and Reform Committee to crack down on pharmaceutical price gouging before the same thing happens to her 18-year-old daughter, Antanique, who also has diabetes. (Eaton, 1/29)
Kaiser Health News:
Congress Wades Into Emotional Debate Over High-Cost Prescription Drugs
On the Senate side, Kathy Sego — whose son with Type 1 diabetes was profiled by Kaiser Health News in 2017 — had a message for absent drug companies. “I don’t know how any person would be OK with knowing that their medication is priced so high you have to make a decision between life or death,” she said. “That should never be a decision a person needs to make.” It remains to be seen how drugmakers might react to mounting political scrutiny. (Huetteman and Bluth, 1/29)
In other pharmaceutical news —
Politico Pro:
Drug Industry, Patient Groups Urge CMS To Abandon Proposed Protected Class Changes
Industry and patient groups alike are pushing back on a CMS proposal to give Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage plans power to limit coverage of “protected class” medicines in a bid to lower government spending. ... While the proposed rule lays out a number of strategies, the top item would give plans broader negotiating tools — including step therapy and prior authorization — for anticonvulsants, antidepressants, antineoplastics, antipsychotics, antiretrovirals and immunosuppressants. (Owermohle, 1/29)
Prescription Drug Watch: For news on rising drug costs, check out our weekly roundup of news coverage and perspectives of the issue.
