Inside STAT: How a billionaire couple greased the skids for Pelosi’s drug pricing bill

JOHN ARNOLD (BRENT HUMPHREYS)

When House Democrats pass a crucial bill next month to slash drug pricing, they can thank some strange bedfellows: Texas billionaires John and Laura Arnold. John Arnold, for one, represents the kind of corporate excess that progressive lawmakers have recently shunned and began his career at the now infamous Enron. But the Arnolds have shelled out a combined $60 million to slowly accumulate clout when it comes to drug pricing. Last month, commercials cut by an Arnolds-backed advocacy group aired on network television during the World Series. And this year alone, at least seven researchers and advocates funded by the Arnolds have urged lawmakers to move forward with legislation to cut prescription drug prices. STAT’s Lev Facher has more from Washington here.