It boils down to finding a balance: How big a stick should Medicare have to negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies?
WASHINGTON — Democrats are committed to passing legislation this year to curb prescription drug prices, but they're still disagreeing on how to cut costs for patients and taxpayers while preserving profits that lure investors to back potentially promising treatments.
In the Senate, Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore, is also working to craft legislation. His starting point isIt would have limited price increases for drugs already on the market, but not initial prices. It would have capped Medicare recipients' out-of-pocket costs for pharmacy drugs, which is in the Pelosi bill.
“Democrats are going to pass Medicare prescription drug reform and I’m going to be part of it,” Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., told The Associated Press. The first-term lawmaker has raised concerns that Pelosi’s approach is not a negotiation but a price control system. His voice matters because Auchincloss is helping lead a group of like-minded Democrats, and Pelosi can’t afford to lose many votes.
“We would like to see a balanced drug pricing bill emerge from the Congress this year," Ubl told AP in a recent interview. He later added that “our industry understands that there is going to be some pain involved in the process.” “You've got to have that reference price that is somewhat objective as a basis for negotiation, and then you have to have a way to compel the drug companies to come to the table," he said. “It's directionally correct.”“We've just experienced an amazing example of incredibly effective innovation,” Nichols said, referring to COVID-19 vaccines that have pushed back a deadly pandemic in this country.
“Obviously the government creates a market for drugs through patents and exclusivity, and there are clearly areas where the companies are taking advantage,” he said.
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