Senate Releases Bipartisan Proposal to Lower Seniors' Drug Prices

The Senate Finance Committee has announced a bipartisan drug-pricing proposal designed to limit price increases in Medicare and put a cap on older adults' out-of-pocket costs, reports the Washington Post . Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and the ranking Democrat, Ron Wyden (Ore.), spent half a year developing and adapting the plan, which has the support of the White House and which should save the federal government roughly $100 million over the next decade. During that same time period, older adults will save $27 billion in out-of-pocket costs and $5 billion in lowered premiums. The bill would cap out-of-pocket payments for Medicare Part D at $3,100 per year starting in 2022. It would also limit drug price increases to the rate of inflation and limit drug prices specifically in Medicare Part B. A health aide for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that the House will introduce its own drug pricing proposal later this fall, though that proposal is expected to be more liberal than the Senate's plan. Drugmakers have already expressed opposition to the Grassley-Wyden bill.