WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden’s call for authorising Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices has energised Democrats on a politically popular idea they've been pushing for nearly 20 years only to encounter frustration.
“This is not a done deal,” continued Welch. “We've got a president and a speaker, but ‘pharma’ is very powerful.” Pharma is a nickname for the industry and for its main lobbying group, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA. “I don’t think anybody is fully prepared for the onslaught we expect from PhRMA,” said Margarida Jorge, campaign director for Lower Drug Prices Now, a coalition backing Medicare negotiations. “We are going to see a much bigger stepped-up game.”
But Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa is urging Biden to lower his sights a bit. Grassley opposes negotiating authority for Medicare but supports requiring drugmakers to pay rebates for price hikes above the inflation rate - a potential compromise. “I hope the president reconsiders the liberal pipe dream in favour of the big bipartisan win,” said Grassley.
One option for Pelosi and Schumer would be to splice the Medicare legislation into a mammoth Bill delivering Biden's “American Jobs Plan” promises on social programs and infrastructure.
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