Draft Pelosi plan would overhaul how Medicare pays for drugs

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR
September 10, 2019

WASHINGTON (AP) — A draft plan from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi leaked Tuesday would overhaul how Medicare pays for prescription drugs, by negotiating prices for costly medications, curbing annual price hikes, and limiting what seniors pay out of their own pockets.

With President Donald Trump highly interested in a deal on prescription drugs, the ambitious plan appeared be Pelosi laying down a marker that represents what House Democrats would want to see happen.

Pelosi’s office wasn’t commenting directly on the leaked proposal, but spokesman Henry Connelly said she’s working with leading Democrats “to develop the boldest, toughest possible bill to lower prescription drug prices for all Americans.” The plan would also make Medicare’s negotiated prices available to people with private insurance.

The California Democrat has been in discussions with the White House for months about potential actions to curb drug costs, but the outlook remains uncertain. Empowering Medicare to negotiate prices is a nonstarter for most Republicans, even if Trump in the past backed the idea. In the Senate, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is advancing a bill that stops short of allowing Medicare to negotiate but incorporates other major ideas in Pelosi’s plan.

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