House Democrats are “likely” to include a controversial provision in the upcoming infrastructure bill that would require Medicare to negotiate down the prices it pays …
House Democrats are “likely” to include a controversial provision in the upcoming infrastructure bill that would require Medicare to negotiate down the prices it pays drug companies, a senior Democratic aide told The Washington Times. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has raised the idea previously but had only described it as “under consideration.” The aide’s comments are the strongest indication yet that said that Democrats could add the proposal, which is expected to be fought bitterly by the powerful drug industry, to what’s already shaping up to be a heated and partisan debate over the massive infrastructure bill. To proponents, the benefits are clear. They say the measure would lower the prices that Medicare pays for dozens of drugs, creating $456 billion in savings, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The negotiated prices would also apply to private insurance. Congressional Democrats could use the money on other aspects of the infrastructure plan, including one of Mrs. Pelosi’s top priorities, to expand the number of community health centers. “If we were able to do that, we could save almost a half a trillion dollars, like $450 billion?” Mrs. Pelosi said at a recent press conference. But the $456 billion would come out of the pockets of drug companies, who do not want to be used as a piggy bank to fund Democratic priorities, The industry is warning that Americans would ultimately suffer because drug companies would have less money to spend on developing new treatments.
