So where exactly do things stand right now?
If your head is starting to spin about the various drug pricing bills floating around on Capitol Hill, you’re not alone. Here’s what we know so far about the packages emerging from Congress’ powerful health care committees, and when such packages could eventually get to the president’s desk:
Senate Finance: The committee is currently in the throes of negotiating a package of drug pricing reforms. The committee’s chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), was remarkably candid at an event last week on what he wants to see come out of his committee. Chief among the ideas: capping the amount Medicare beneficiaries pay at the pharmacy counter, reforming how doctors are paid for certain drugs administered in their offices, and even potentially extending Trump’s plan for eliminating drug rebates to the commercial market. (For more, STAT’s Ruth Hailu has a great rundown of Grassley’s Q&A.)
On timing, lobbyists have long expected a markup on June 19, but they’re increasingly doubtful the committee will make that deadline. (A committee spokesman told me a bill will likely be introduced “within the next month, but a date hasn’t yet been set in stone.”) Among the sticking points: Negotiations are still ongoing, especially when it comes to exactly who pays for capping what seniors pay at the pharmacy counter.
Senate HELP: The committee released a surprisingly sweeping discussion draft in late May. It includes PBM reforms like banning spread pricing as well as changes to the FDA’s exclusivity rules. The committee’s chairman, Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), has also promised to work to include bills that would tie what patients pay out of pocket to the negotiated price for a drug rather than its list price, as well as a proposal that would require more disclosures from drug companies. Lobbyists told me they expected a hearing on that bill on June 18.
House Energy & Commerce and House Ways & Means: The House committees worked together to release a draft proposal last month that, like the yet-to-be-released Senate Finance proposal, would cap what Medicare beneficiaries pay out of pocket for drugs. The draft was surprisingly vague (only four pages), and the committee is still hammering out key details, like how drug costs should be split between the government, drug makers, and insurers. Comments on the draft were due Thursday. The committees have been mum about next steps.
House leadership: Rumors were flying that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her health policy guru Wendell Primus would release a concrete drug pricing proposal last week, but no dice. The latest rumor I’ve heard is that there could be a white paper out this week on that proposal, as the details continue to be hammered out by committee staff. But a Pelosi spokesperson threw water on that late Monday, telling me there would be “nothing this week.”
Senate Finance: The committee is currently in the throes of negotiating a package of drug pricing reforms. The committee’s chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), was remarkably candid at an event last week on what he wants to see come out of his committee. Chief among the ideas: capping the amount Medicare beneficiaries pay at the pharmacy counter, reforming how doctors are paid for certain drugs administered in their offices, and even potentially extending Trump’s plan for eliminating drug rebates to the commercial market. (For more, STAT’s Ruth Hailu has a great rundown of Grassley’s Q&A.)
On timing, lobbyists have long expected a markup on June 19, but they’re increasingly doubtful the committee will make that deadline. (A committee spokesman told me a bill will likely be introduced “within the next month, but a date hasn’t yet been set in stone.”) Among the sticking points: Negotiations are still ongoing, especially when it comes to exactly who pays for capping what seniors pay at the pharmacy counter.
Senate HELP: The committee released a surprisingly sweeping discussion draft in late May. It includes PBM reforms like banning spread pricing as well as changes to the FDA’s exclusivity rules. The committee’s chairman, Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), has also promised to work to include bills that would tie what patients pay out of pocket to the negotiated price for a drug rather than its list price, as well as a proposal that would require more disclosures from drug companies. Lobbyists told me they expected a hearing on that bill on June 18.
House Energy & Commerce and House Ways & Means: The House committees worked together to release a draft proposal last month that, like the yet-to-be-released Senate Finance proposal, would cap what Medicare beneficiaries pay out of pocket for drugs. The draft was surprisingly vague (only four pages), and the committee is still hammering out key details, like how drug costs should be split between the government, drug makers, and insurers. Comments on the draft were due Thursday. The committees have been mum about next steps.
House leadership: Rumors were flying that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her health policy guru Wendell Primus would release a concrete drug pricing proposal last week, but no dice. The latest rumor I’ve heard is that there could be a white paper out this week on that proposal, as the details continue to be hammered out by committee staff. But a Pelosi spokesperson threw water on that late Monday, telling me there would be “nothing this week.”
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