Democrats unveil drug pricing policy roadmap ahead of midterms

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Senate Democrats on Tuesday released a blueprint of proposals to lower prescription drug costs, as Democrats focus on affordability to provide a counter message to the White House and help Democrats win back control of Congress.

High prescription drug costs are a persistent concern for voters of both parties. President Trump has been touting his own efforts of voluntary pricing deals with manufacturers and listings on his branded website TrumpRx.

But Democrats, led by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and other members of the Senate Finance Committee minority, say Trump hasn’t delivered. They argue Democrats are responsible for forcing drug companies to negotiate prices with the federal government for Medicare as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, which passed without a single Republican vote.

“While Trump has busied himself giving showy sweetheart deals to Big Pharma with the alleged benefits for families kept secret, Democrats are working hard to meaningfully lower prices and invest in the valuable treatments of the future,” Wyden said in a statement.

The Finance Committee document asks for stakeholders and experts to weigh in on different proposals “to help build a drug pricing system that works for everybody” that Democrats could implement should they take power after the midterm elections in November.

The ideas include ways to expand the Medicare drug price negotiations, such as by making more drugs subject to the negotiations and allowing negotiations earlier in a product’s life cycle.

The plan also considers taking a page from Trump’s playbook and factoring international prices into Medicare drug price negotiation.

Trump has negotiated 17 voluntary “most favored nation” agreements with drug companies, which pledge not to charge more than the lowest international price for select products.

But those deals are focused on Medicaid and for future drugs, not Medicare or private insurance. The terms of these deals are secret.

“Trump has tried to capitalize on Americans’ frustration by claiming that he is bringing drug prices in the United States down to international levels. None of his efforts, however, have delivered results. In fact, most appear to be intentionally unserious,” the document states.

Aside from price negotiation, the Democrats asked for comments on proposals to bolster Medicare’s price gouging penalties to “ensure pharmaceutical companies are held accountable when they price gouge.”

The document also asked for input on ways to lower out-of-pocket costs. For instance, Democrats asked for opinions on whether to cap cost-sharing for specific medicine like insulin, or all medicines that qualify as chronic care drugs.

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