Daily on Healthcare: Pelosi unveils drug pricing plan

The plan would let the Department of Health and Human Services negotiate the price of up to 250 drugs and would fine pharmaceutical companies when they don’t come to the table. The savings would extend not just to Medicare beneficiaries but to people who are covered by private health insurance. Democrats are looking to leverage the lower prices paid for drugs in other wealthy countries to help determine the prices of drugs domestically.

Democrats intend to move swiftly on legislation. A hearing is set for Wednesday in the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee called “Making Prescription Drugs More Affordable: Legislation to Negotiate a Better Deal for Americans.”

Pelosi’s biggest hurdle will be to win over members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Whatever she proposes is likely to be panned by House Republicans and will be largely symbolic as it won’t be taken up in the GOP-controlled Senate, though some centrist Democrats have urged for legislation that President Trump could actually sign.

What still isn’t clear is whether the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act that passed the Senate Finance Committee in July will go to a full floor for a vote, or whether the House would be willing to take it up.

That bill would cap what people on Medicare pay for drugs at $3,100 a year beginning in 2022 and would cap drug costs by forcing drug companies to give rebates to Medicare if they increase their prices above inflation, among more than two dozen other provisions.

Good morning and welcome to the Washington Examiner’s Daily on Healthcare! This newsletter is written by senior healthcare reporter Kimberly Leonard (@LeonardKL) and healthcare reporter Cassidy Morrison (@CassMorrison94). You can reach us with tips, calendar items, or suggestions at [email protected]. If someone forwarded you this email and you’d like to receive it regularly, you can subscribe here.

BUTTIGIEG UNVEILS HEALTHCARE PLAN: Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg revealed his healthcare plan Thursday — “Medicare for all who want it” — distancing himself from fellow presidential contenders advocating for the abolition of private insurance. The proposal did not come with a price estimate.

Buttigieg’s proposal would automatically enroll low-income uninsured people into a government plan without cost to them, while people with higher incomes who are uninsured would, as under Obamacare, get a federal subsidy and be prompted to enroll in insurance. The plan is similar to Joe Biden’s in that the uninsured have the option of getting a government plan, but Buttigieg’s plan more aggressively seeks to enroll all who are uninsured.

“Health care is a human right,” the South Bend, Indiana, mayor said on Twitter. “But in America, it’s too expensive, too complicated, and too frustrating. I’m proposing a bold new approach — Medicare for All Who Want It — that lowers costs, creates real choices, and covers everyone.”

BUTTIGIEG BREAKS SILENCE ABOUT THE 2,246 FETUSES FOUND IN SOUTH BEND ABORTION DOCTOR’S HOME: Buttigieg, who was already mayor while former abortion provider Ulrich Klopfer was a practicing physician in South Bend, spoke out about the 2,246 preserved fetuses found in the deceased Klopfer’s Illinois home. “Like everyone, I find the news out of Illinois extremely disturbing, and I think it’s important that it be fully investigated,” Buttigieg said on Wednesday. “I also hope it doesn’t get caught up in politics at a time when women need access to healthcare. There’s no question that what happened is disturbing. It’s unacceptable. And it needs to be looked into fully.” Buttigieg’s campaign had until recently ignored requests for comment from the Washington Examiner about the Klopfer revelations and faced pressure to speak out about the fetal remains.

AMERICANS WANT TO HEAR MORE ABOUT HEALTH AND DRUG COSTS FROM CANDIDATES: POLL: Registered voters across all age groups want to hear more about health costs like copays and deductibles, as well as drug costs, than they do about the role of private insurers in new healthcare system proposals from candidates, according to a new Morning Consult/Political poll. For example, more Generation X’ers, ages 39 to 54 — 26% — are interested in hearing about what presidential candidates have to say about copayments and deductibles than are interested in what will become of private insurers in proposals like Medicare for All — 6%. Similarly 19% of Gen X voters want to hear about how candidates plan to tackle rising drug costs.

AARP FINDS DRUG PRICES ROSE HIGHER THAN THE RATE OF INFLATION IN 2017: The growth of retail prices of over 750 brand name, generic, and specialty prescription drugs surpassed the rate of inflation in 2017, according to an AARP analysis. For example, the average cost of a drug used daily for a lifetime would have been $12,500 cheaper, about $7,263, if drug prices had matched the rate of inflation over the previous decade. However, the AARP found that increases in brand name and specialty drug costs offset overall decreases in generic drug prices. Retail prices for widely used generic drug products decreased by an average of 9.3% at an average annual cost of $365, while retail prices for widely used brand name drug products increased by an average of 8.4%, an average annual cost of $6,798.

NOVARTIS TO STOP DISTRIBUTING HEARTBURN DRUG ZANTAC TO MARKETS WORLDWIDE: Novartis announced it will halt distribution of the generic version of the drug Zantac, ranitidine, throughout the worldwide market, after the Food and Drug Administration and European regulators last week said that they may have found NDMA, a cancer-causing agent, in the generic drug to treat gastrointestinal disorders. Dana Kahn Cooper, a spokesperson for Novartis, told Medscape Medical News that “a precautionary distribution stop of all Sandoz ranitidine-containing medicines in all our markets will remain in place under further clarification… Our internal investigation is ongoing to determine further details.”

TEEN E-CIGARETTE USE HAS DOUBLED SINCE 2017: The rates of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders using e-cigarettes has doubled in the past two years, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Researchers at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, used data from the 2019 Monitoring the Future Survey to conclude that in 2019, the prevalence of past month nicotine vaping was more than 1 in 4 students in 12th grade, 1 in 5 in 10th grade, and 1 in 11 in eighth grade. “Parents with school-aged children should begin paying close attention to these devices, which can look like simple flash drives, and frequently come in flavors that are appealing to youth,” said University of Michigan lead researcher Dr. Richard Miech. “National leaders can assist parents by stepping up and implementing policies and programs to prevent use of these products by teens.”

The Rundown

Buzzfeed News A remote Bahamas medical clinic lost staff, power, and water. It stayed open anyway

Stat FDA warns testing companies: Don’t tell patients how their DNA influences response to specific drugs

The Clarion Ledger Mississippi reports first vaping-related lung illness

The Associated Press Will combo pill catch on in US to prevent heart attacks

The Washington Post Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy plan includes special protection for the Sackler family fortune

Calendar

THURSDAY | Sept. 19

10:30 a.m. Rayburn 2322. Energy and Commerce Committee’s Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee hearing on “Protecting Consumers from Pharmaceutical Market Gaming Tactics.” Details.

10 a.m. 2123 Rayburn. House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing on “Protecting Unaccompanied Children: The Ongoing Impact of the Trump Administration’s Cruel Policies.” Details.

SUNDAY | Sept. 22

Sept. 22-26. AHIP National Conference on Medicare, Medicaid, and Dual Eligibles. Agenda.

TUESDAY | Sept. 24

Sept. 24-26. Atlantic Festival. Agenda.

9:15 a.m. 1789 Massachusetts Avenue NW. American Enterprise Institute event on “A new vision for health reform.” Details.