Democrats Reach Deal to Control Drug Prices in Social Policy Bill
The New York Times
The provision would, for the first time, allow the government to negotiate prices for some medicines covered by Medicare.
WASHINGTON — Democrats reached a deal on Tuesday to add a measure to control prescription drug costs to President Biden’s social safety net plan, agreeing to allow the government to negotiate prices for medications covered by Medicare, as the House moved closer to a vote on the sprawling bill.
Negotiators also closed in on a costly agreement to reinstate a federal tax deduction, eliminated in the 2017 tax cuts signed by President Donald J. Trump, for state and local taxes.
The prescription drug deal is limited. Starting in 2023, negotiations could begin on what Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon called the most expensive drugs — treatments for cancer and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as anticoagulants. Most drugs would still be granted patent exclusivity for nine years before negotiations could start, and more advanced drugs, called biologics, would be protected for 12 years.
