Bipartisan Bill To Lower Drug Prices Stalled On Capitol Hill

What’s the story?

Despite President Trump’s declaration to lower drug prices in his State of The Union address, and despite the focus on health care that dominated Congress for much of 2017, a bill with wide bipartisan support that would lower drug prices and save the federal government $3.8 billion over a decade is stalled on Capitol Hill.

The bill is called the CREATES Act. Its focus is on increasing competition by removing roadblocks to companies trying to develop generic alternatives to name brand drugs. According to the Washington Post, "It’s common for pharmaceutical companies to try to block competitors from creating generic versions of their products by either refusing to sell them the large quantities needed for the development process or by abusing special safety protocols as a way of safeguarding their drugs from competition."

The CREATES Act would allow companies looking to develop generics to sue name-brand companies that refuse to send the samples needed for testing. It would also authorize the Food and Drug Administration to develop alternative safety protocols if name-brand companies block generic companies’ participation in safety protocols.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) sponsored the bill. The 16 co-sponsors include Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told the Post that the bill would be the best way to "speed up the entry of cheaper generics into the marketplace and lower the price of drugs overall."

Critics of the bill argue that the list of drugs that would be affected by the legislation is small (less than 45), and the potential increase in litigation would end up increasing costs to patients and taxpayers.

Despite the cost-savings projected by the Congressional Budget Office, the bill was not rolled into any funding bill yet approved by Congress. Leahy noted its absence from the continuing resolution approved last week on the Senate floor.

Congress will have to approve a new funding package by March 23. Countable will have a summary of the CREATES Act up soon to help you in reaching out to your lawmakers.

What do you think?

Should the CREATES Act be included in a future funding package? Why or why not?

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— Asha Sanaker

(Photo Credit: Images Money via Flickr / Creative Commons)