WASHINGTON — Republicans in Congress are working to relax a law that would force drug makers to pay a higher percentage of costs for Medicare beneficiaries.
Democratic aides, including in House leadership, and a spate of health industry lobbyists confirmed that House Republicans are trying to use an upcoming spending bill to make the change at the behest of the pharmaceutical industry, which has spent the weeks since the law was enacted in February blasting the policy. Whether the industry can agree to the particulars of a “fix” before a March 23 deadline and whether Democrats will accept the policy is still up in the air.
If the policy is relaxed, it will represent yet another win for pharmaceutical companies that have managed to fend off a series of potential threats from lawmakers and the Trump administration, despite the president’s repeated promises to address sky-high prescription drug prices.
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