FTC head crosses party lines, endorses Medicare negotiation

A Republican commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission defied party lines on Thursday, effectively endorsing a Democratic bill to allow Medicare to directly negotiate the price of prescription drugs.

“I’m aware there is legislation that would increase the number of pharma products for which the government can negotiate prices,” the commissioner, Christine Wilson, said at an event in Washington. “I think that’s great.”

It’s the latest sign of health care turmoil in Washington, STAT’s Lev Facher writes. The Trump administration has sharply criticized the same legislation, and Congress remains far from any type of real drug pricing compromise. Wilson acknowledged she was touching on a “third rail” in U.S. politics, but later doubled down, criticizing “market distortions” that have allowed drug prices to soar.