PBM and Part D Reform Could Be on Legislative Agenda
As a new bill introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) indicates, Congress is once again looking seriously at tackling drug pricing reform. D.C. insiders say that Democrats could pursue big changes to PBM regulation and Medicare’s ability to negotiate drug prices, likely through a budget reconciliation bill, and suggest that parts of previous pieces of legislation, such as the 116th Congress’ H.R. 3, are likely to serve as templates for a new bill.
While previous proposals are likely to be where the conversation starts, experts say that Congress is unlikely to pass all of the reforms proposed in existing bills. Those include H.R. 3, the new bill from Sanders and a Senate bill sponsored by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) — though all components of each bill contain elements that a new measure could include.
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