Why did the CREATES Act take so darn long to get done?

(DOM SMITH/STAT)

The CREATES Act — just signed into law last month — is a modest tweak meant to help get generic drugs to market. The legislation is so bipartisan that it might be the only bill in history to have been endorsed by both Public Citizen and FreedomWorks. It’s supported by hospitals, drug stores, middlemen and doctors. Even drug makers dropped opposition to the bill nearly two years ago. And yet it took nearly a decade for Congress to finally act and get something signed into law. Lawmakers claim that 2020 will be the year they finally pass sweeping drug pricing reforms, but if the CREATES Act tells us anything, it’s clear they’ll need a lot longer to get real reforms passed. 

As one expert, Vanderbilt’s Stacie Dusetzina told me: “Policy is a long game.” 

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