WASHINGTON – President Biden, Speaker Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Schumer announced yesterday that the White House and Congressional Democrats had reached a compromise agreement on prescription drug pricing reforms to be included in the Build Back Better Act. The agreement includes a provision to allow Medicare to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies for lower drug prices, which is currently prohibited by law. This provision has been championed by Rep. Peter Welch throughout his 15 years in Congress and is a significant step forward in protecting consumers from price gouging by pharmaceutical companies. The agreement will also cap the cost of insulin for consumers at $35 per month, limit pharmaceutical companies from raising prices beyond the rate of inflation, and directly lower out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors.

“I support this compromise. It’s a long way from where I hoped we would be, but it’s a long way from where we were,” said Rep. Welch. “This deal starts to break the iron grip that Big Pharma has on life-saving and life-extending drugs. Medicare can finally negotiate for a better deal for consumers and taxpayers. We are finally putting a check on future price gouging by Big Pharma by limiting annual price increases beyond the rate of inflation. This deal will save lives by lowering the price of insulin to $35 per month and by capping the out-of-pocket prescription costs for seniors, so they can afford to take the medications they need. We still have work to do to get this signed into law as part of the Build Back Better plan, but it’s a good day when we can beat back Big Pharma’s power and deception. We will fight another day alongside the patients, families, organizations, and advocates to build on this important foundation.”

Health care advocacy groups, including Patients For Affordable Drugs and Protect Our Care, have worked to build support for legislation to lower the cost of prescription drug prices and have expressed support for the compromise.

“While we await details on the specifics of the legislation, the agreement reached yesterday is a signal achievement in the fight to curb pharma’s power to dictate prices of brand-name drugs. It marks a milestone for patients across the country and will reset key policies to make our broken drug pricing system work better for the people it is supposed to serve,” said David Mitchell, a patient with incurable blood cancer whose drugs carry a list price of more than $900,000 per year and founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “While the legislation may not have all the features we would have wished for, it takes important steps in a new direction that we can build on in the years ahead. We are deeply grateful to Congressman Welch for his tireless leadership on this issue and for his pivotal role in negotiations to fight for meaningful reform that lowers prices for patients. Without his dedication to fighting for patients, we would never have arrived at this moment.”

“For 15 years, Rep. Welch has been a fierce advocate for lowering drug prices for patients, and now his vision has become a reality. For far too long, drug companies have dictated prices. Americans pay three times more for drugs than people in other countries, but that all stops with the Build Back Better Act,” said Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach. “The only loser today is Big Pharma. Instead of wasting millions of dollars on failed lobbying efforts and scare tactics, drug companies can now put more money towards innovation and research. Reducing the cost of prescription drugs will save lives, and we have President Biden and health care champions like Rep. Welch to thank for bringing real relief to millions of people.”

The Build Back Better Act, with the drug pricing agreement included, is expected to be considered by the House of Representatives in the coming days.

For a summary of the compromise agreement, please click here. Below is a list of recent national news articles on the issue.  

Recent National News Coverage

Los Angeles Times: Democrats reach deal on Medicare prescription drug prices in social spending bill

Jennifer Haberkorn | November 2, 2021

Washington Post: Democrats scramble to get a drug-price compromise, but wait on Sinema

Rachel Roubein, Dan Diamond, Tony Romm, and Amy Goldstein |November 1, 2021

Washington Post: Rep. Peter Welch says drug price negotiation must be done

Rachel Roubein |October 13, 2021

Original source can be found here.