WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office is working to gather support for a last-ditch proposal to lower prescription drug costs after the White House shunned the issue Thursday morning, according to four sources briefed on the policy.
The new policy, which Pelosi’s office is pitching as a collaboration between House Energy & Commerce Chair Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.), would allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices for medications administered by doctors and at the pharmacy counter, after their so-called exclusivity period, granted by the Food and Drug Administration, expires, four sources said.
The tentative deal would also penalize drug makers for raising prices faster than inflation in both the employer-sponsored insurance market and Medicare. Seniors would have their out-of-pocket drug costs capped each year.
“We’re working on a negotiated prices bill and I think we’ll get there,” Pallone told STAT in a brief interview at the Capitol Thursday night when asked whether he had reached a deal with Peters.
Peters, in a separate hallway interview, said there is not a final deal yet, and the proposal does not yet have buy-in from the Senate.
“[Pallone] has come a long way on the policy, but we have to get 50 votes in the Senate. We don’t have that yet,” Peters said.
A spokesperson for Peters said he will require the support of 50 senators before committing to any agreement, and that has not yet been achieved, but he is committed to working in good faith with colleagues in both chambers to lower drug prices.
One of the most important skeptics to win over will be Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.). Sinema was willing to accept a more limited proposal pushed by Peters, a source familiar with her thinking said. Politico first reported Sinema’s support for Peters’ idea.
The proposal is not final yet, the four sources said, and policy details are subject to change.
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October 29, 2021 at 07:10AM
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Pelosi working to gather support for last-ditch drug pricing policy - STAT
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