House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., will introduce Thursday her long-anticipated plan to lower the cost of prescription drugs. It is a priority shared by President Trump, fueling a glimmer of hope that there is a deal to be had on the issue ahead of the 2020 elections.
The speaker’s proposal would allow the federal government, through the Health and Human Services secretary, to negotiate prices for the top 250 most expensive drugs on the market that don’t have at least two competitors. The amounts would be pegged to the costs of the same drugs in other countries — which are generally much cheaper — under an “international price index.” It would also levy steep fines on drug companies that refuse to engage in negotiations, and put limits on how much drug costs can go up.
It is rare for the speaker to take an early and formative role in crafting a bill — policy work generally left to committees — so Pelosi’s engagement on the issue sends a clear message that the bill is a top priority for the party. Her office has been quietly negotiating the details of the proposal for months, which Pelosi has run by moderate and progressive factions within the Democratic Caucus ahead of today’s official release.
The speaker met Tuesday evening with the Blue Dog Coalition, a faction of moderates who often represent many of the party’s swing seats. “We appreciate that Speaker Pelosi took the time to meet with the Blue Dogs to discuss a path forward to lower the cost of prescription drugs,” said Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., a co-chair of the moderate Blue Dog Coalition, said in a statement. “Our constituents want to see solutions implemented today, and we hope House Republicans will join in coming forward with bold solutions to bring down drug costs and increase transparency surrounding drug pricing.”
A source at the Blue Dog meeting said lawmakers were particularly eager to change the conversation in the House. “Members would like to be talking less about impeachment and more about an issue that their constituents are bringing up at every town hall back home,” the source said. “We’re eager to see the legislation itself.”
Committees are expected to take up the legislation as soon as next week, with the goal of passing it out of the House by the end of the year. There are only 34 legislative days left in 2019.
Pelosi’s proposal is the most sweeping plan on the table — and while traditional Republicans are sure to object — it includes ideas that President Trump has indicated in the past he could support to help drive down drug prices for Americans. If the speaker and the president could come to an agreement, Democrats believe he could bring enough Republicans on board to get it through Congress and signed into law.
The president supports a drug price index, and the administration is reviewing a possible executive order to that end. “Why should other nations like Canada — why should other nations pay much less than us? They’ve taken advantage of the system for a long time, pharma,” Trump told reporters in July.
The pharmaceutical lobby, with backing from GOP allies, opposes any effort to regulate the drug market. However, at least one powerful Senate Republican, Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is willing to buck party orthodoxy in order to get a bill to lower drug prices.
Grassley and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., cut a deal in July on legislation that limits out-of-pocket costs for seniors in Medicare’s Part D prescription drug program to $3,100 per year starting in 2022.
Grassley moved a draft version of that proposal out of committee over the objection of most Republicans on the Senate Finance panel, who oppose it on free-market principles. His proposal is more modest — the House plan would regulate drug prices more aggressively and outside the scope of Medicare as well — but Grassley is hoping Pelosi’s broader bill will help Republicans rally around his.
Grassley has been pitching his proposal to Senate Republicans as the more moderate plan, on an issue generally popular with voters everywhere. He is also warning Republicans that if they do not coalesce around an alternative to offer to the president for his support, Trump could join forces with Pelosi instead.
A spokesman for Grassley said a formal text of his legislation will be introduced soon.
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