That bipartisan drug pricing push could be falling apart

The escalating cost of medicine has emerged as perhaps the only issue that unites Democrats and Republicans in Washington. Now, a move to bundle pending legislation could unravel all that.

As STAT’s Lev Facher reports, Democratic leadership has coupled a set of bills on drug pricing with a more contentious set meant to strengthen the Affordable Care Act. The idea is to dare Republicans, who have vowed to vote against the pro-ACA component, to take the political risk that would come with siding against the popular idea of reining in drug costs.

That gambit isn’t sitting well with some top Democrats, who are concerned their party has squandered a rare opportunity for bipartisanship.

“We did this without a food fight in the committee, but now by packaging it together with the ACA, it creates another issue,” said Rep. Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat.

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