On Feb. 4, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), along with Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) unveiled their policy agenda to lower the cost of prescription drugs. In the Broken Promises: Prescription Drugs brief (PDF) and accompanying Dear Colleague letter (PDF), the senators criticized the Trump administration’s handling of this issue and outlined three priority areas for Senate Finance Committee Democrats, including:
- Strengthening and expanding the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program established under the Inflation Reduction Act (P.L. 117-169, PDF).
- Lowering patients’ out-of-pocket costs by cracking down on “middlemen,” such as pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), and further ensuring that patients’ cost-sharing responsibilities reflect actual costs incurred to health plans and PBMs.
- Bolstering the nation’s biomedical research infrastructure through new tax incentives designed to support innovation and drug development.
The letter noted that the authors plan to release additional information about these policies in the coming weeks and months, noting, “Finance Committee minority staff will dedicate substantial time and effort this year to developing the next generation of health care solutions that lower costs for American families.”