From August 24, 2022 post.
Oversight and Investigations
During his annual 99 county meetings, Senator Grassley has heard about the variety of issues facing Iowans of all ages in making sure they receive safe and affordable medications. Among the biggest frustrations are the unending price increases, especially of drugs that have been on the market for years like insulin. So Grassley and his colleague Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) launched an in-depth congressional investigation of the century-old medication. Their two years of inquiry led to an expansive report, detailing the vicious cycle of business practices by pharmacy benefit managers (PMBs), manufacturers and insurers that has sent the price of insulin skyrocketing in recent years.
Grassley has also taken on Big Pharma companies that have tried to take advantage of Medicare. His work on the misclassification of EpiPens by drugmaker Mylan uncovered the tip of an iceberg of problems, which had costs taxpayers and seniors billions of dollars.
As the previous chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Grassley also convened some of the first Senate hearings with pharmaceutical company and PBM executives demanding explanations and on-the-record testimony about pricing.
Legislation
Grassley has been one of the most prolific and bipartisan legislators when it comes to prescription drug pricing. In the last few years alone, he authored or coauthored legislation that's become law or is still awaiting action from the full Senate or Senate committees. Here are just a few examples:
Have become law:
1. CREATES Act with Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)2. Right Rebate Act with Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)3. Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act
Received committee approval:
1. Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act with Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) - (approved 19-9) 2. PBM Transparency Act with Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) - (approved 19-9) 3. Stop STALLING Act with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) - ( approved unanimously) 4. Preserving Access to Affordable Generics and Biosimilars Act [preventing pay-for-delay schemes] with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn) - (approved unanimously) 5. Prescription Pricing for the People Act with Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) - (approved unanimously) 6. Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act with multiple bipartisan senators - (approved unanimously)
Introduced and awaiting committee consideration:
1. Short on Competition Act with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)2. Safe and Affordable Drugs from Canada Act with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)3. Drug-price Transparency for Competition Act with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Angus King (I-Maine)
Advocacy
Grassley has also used his position and seniority to ensure other government entities are doing due diligence, investigating drug prices and making whatever reforms they can even without congressional action. He's pushed the Justice Department to conduct an antitrust review of pharmaceutical supply chain mergers, sought watchdog information about pharma kickbacks to 'charitable' patient assistance programs, asked the Health and Human Services Department inspector general to investigate middlemen ‘spread pricing’ schemes, called for reforms of pharmacy 'DIR' payments in Medicare Part D which had increased 45,000 percent in the previous decade, pressed for regulatory change that would allow safe importation of prescription drugs from Canada, demanded Federal Trade Commission investigations into the role PBMs play in both insulin prices as well as the broader consumer drug market, and sought a watchdog review of the Big Pharma's lack of compliance with Medicare's 340B program--which helps maintain health care access for low-income patients.
Original source can be found here
