Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
House Vote On Pelosi's Drug Pricing Bill Set For Next Week, Though Legislation Is Likely To Die In Senate
The House will hold a showdown vote next week on Speaker Nancy Pelosi's bill empowering Medicare to negotiate drug prices, expanded Thursday to provide seniors with dental, vision and hearing benefits not currently covered. Leading Democratic committee chairmen said the Congressional Budget Office has indicated that Pelosi's bill would save the government $500 billion over 10 years, which they pledged to use for new Medicare benefits and other health care priorities such as the National Institutes of Health and the opioid crisis. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 12/5)
鈥淲e are going to give Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices, and make those prices available to Americans with private insurance as well as Medicare beneficiaries,鈥 Pelosi said in a statement along with Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and three key committee chairmen, Reps. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.), Richard Neal (D-Mass.) and Bobby Scott (D-Va.). 鈥淎merican seniors and families shouldn鈥檛 have to pay more for their medicines than what Big Pharma charges in other countries for the same drugs.鈥 (Sullivan, 12/5)
Left unclear is whether there will be a complete score of the projected savings from the legislation prior to the vote. Pelosi's office has said leaders wanted a full score before bringing the bill to the floor. The Congressional Budget Office to date has evaluated only the part of the bill, which allows for direct government negotiation of some Medicare drug prices. 鈥淲e have now received enough guidance from CBO to bring the Lower Drug Costs Now Act to the Floor and to reinvest its savings in one of the most transformation improvements to Medicare since its creation," Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Reps. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), Richard Neal (D-Mass.) and Bobby Scott (D-Va.) said in a statement. (Karlin-Smith, 12/5)
The co-chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus warned Thursday that some progressive lawmakers might vote against Speaker Nancy Pelosi鈥檚 (D-Calif.) bill to lower drug prices unless changes are made.聽鈥淲e have told leadership that there could be people who vote against the bill so they should be ready for that if things aren't included,鈥 Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) told reporters after a meeting of the Progressive Caucus聽on Thursday, adding that the group had not done a formal vote count.聽(Sullivan, 12/5)
