Tony Shepard learned he had vocal cord cancer this spring, but he was encouraged when his doctor said he had an 88 percent chance at a cure with chemotherapy and radiation.   That outlook began to dim in recent weeks, though, after the oncology practice he goes to in Central California began to sporadically run […]

Slide Deck: Drug Pricing Bills Allowing Medicare to directly negotiate the price of prescription drugs is a top priority for Democrats as lawmakers craft their budget reconciliation bill, though the details are still undetermined. The House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing on drug pricing bills in May, including H.R. 3, a similar Medicare price negotiation bill […]

The White House is aggressively touting the political benefits of President Joe Biden’s plan to lower the cost of prescription drug prices, setting up the issue as a likely focal point of Congress’ budget debate when the House returns this week. In private conversations with lawmakers, administration officials have emphasized the popularity of the proposal […]

President Joe Biden is pressing Congress to pass legislation allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices and other reforms to slash costs. Biden outlined his plan in Thursday remarks at the White House where he lamented rising costs for years-old medicines such as insulin, arthritis drugs and multiple sclerosis treatments. Besides Medicare negotiation, the president also […]

President Joe Biden on Thursday (Aug. 12) called on Democrats to let Medicare negotiate drug prices, set a firm cap on Medicare out-the-pocket drug copays and penalize drug makers that raise their prices beyond the rate of inflation as part of their upcoming reconciliation bill. The move by Biden, who just a few months ago left […]

Drugmakers Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. and Roche Holding AG could each be forced to repay the government $100 million annually for wasted medicines under the Senate infrastructure deal. The $550 billion measure, which the Senate is debating this week, would require companies to refund Medicare when doctors throw away drugs, a move meant to push some drugmakers to stop overpacking […]

House Democrats agree with employer, labor, and consumer groups that commercial health plans should be included in legislation designed to curb drug prices, according to sources. Whether plans sponsored by employers or insurers can be covered under H.R. 3‘s proposed cap on drug price inflation depends on whether the addition is allowed under a budget procedure […]

Last month, Republicans and Democrats in Congress came together to announce a historic bipartisan deal on a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill.   For months, members on both sides of the aisle worked together to negotiate a compromise that will improve the lives of Americans all across the country. As the drama unfolded, we all saw what can […]

New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez isn’t ready to commit to voting for a budget blueprint that will count on hundreds of billions of dollars extracted from the prescription drug industry to help offset $3.5 trillion in new spending over a decade. “I’m not ready to make any decisions on the budget resolution,” Menendez said Thursday in […]

Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden has released a document outlining “legislative principles” for controlling drug prices. The major provisions include: Medicare price negotiation and inflation rebates, giving commercial insurers the same drug prices that Medicare negotiates, blocking a Trump-era ban on rebates, and tailoring policies to protect small biotechnology companies. The bill also will […]