The billionaires behind Pelosi's drug pricing bill

Nancy Pelosi has two Texas billionaires to thank for helping along her expansive drug pricing bill. John and Laura Arnold, whose passion project has been drug price reform, have amplified House Democrats’ efforts to push legislation that would slash prescription drug spending to $1 trillion, as STAT's Lev Facher reports.

Though John Arnold made his billions as a hedge fund manager and began his career at Enron, he’s been embraced by Democrats. After all, he’s showered some $60 million on researchers, patient advocates, and political groups that promote equitable drug pricing.

“There’s no question: They have to be the single biggest anti-pharma effort out there,” one health policy researcher said. “This moment is ripe for somebody like John Arnold to pour more gasoline on the fire. And he’s got a lot of gasoline.”