WASHINGTON — If President Biden wants major pharmaceutical industry reforms, he may have to achieve them on his own.
That’s looking increasingly likely after the White House’s concession on Thursday that it is abandoning its push for Congress to include major drug pricing provisions in its long-debated social spending bill.
Despite last-minute attempts to resurrect drug pricing legislation, the broader lack of congressional support puts Biden in a bind. As a presidential candidate, he campaigned aggressively on drug prices: In 2019, he called the existing ban on Medicare negotiating prices with pharmaceutical manufacturers “outrageous.” Among other promises, Biden proposed capping launch prices for new medicines that don’t face market competition, limiting year-to-year price increases, and allowing drug importation from foreign countries, namely Canada.
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