WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 -- U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday unveiled a long-awaited plan to lower prices for non-prescription drugs, but the proposal could face an uphill battle in the Republican-controlled Senate.
The plan, a top priority for the Democrats this year, would allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to negotiate the prices of up to 250 drugs annually.
The drugs whose prices will be subject to adjustments are those without "a generic or biosimilar competitor on the market," according to a summary of the plan.
"The Secretary would use data provided by Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial insurance to make the determination about aggregate cost, which is a measure of price and volume of sales," read the summary.
"The Secretary will negotiate as many drugs as possible each year, with a bare minimum of 25 annually, recognizing the practical capacity and bandwidth constraints on HHS," it added.
Pelosi appeared to be counting on support from the Trump administration to get the bill passed in the Senate.
"We do hope to have White House buy-in because that seems to be the route to getting any votes in the United States Senate," she said at a press conference on Thursday.
"This is an introduction. So much more will be added in the committee process and the public review of it," the congresswoman added.
House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy, however, played down the possibility of President Donald Trump endorsing the Democratic bill.
"I don't see how the president could support this bill, because I don't see it lowering the prices or solving the problem," he told a press conference Thursday.
And the plan drew immediate opposition from the Republicans in the House. All 24 Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee blasted the plan on Thursday, calling Pelosi's proposal a means "to appease her most extreme members."
"It does not have to be this way; there are bipartisan solutions to bring down prices for patients and create real transparency and accountability for this system," the committee members said.
In the Senate, Chuck Grassley, Republican from Iowa, and Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, proposed an alternative solution which was considered more moderate than Pelosi's.
Grassley tried to rally bipartisan support for the Senate plan, which also met criticism from some Republicans who objected to a cap on price increases in Medicare that the proposed bill would impose.
"I like Sen. Grassley's drug pricing bill very much, and it's great to see Speaker Pelosi's bill today. Let's get it done in a bipartisan way!" Trump said later in the day on Twitter.
英语学习中最容易犯得16个错误
选择了美好,每日便能安眠
全球市场即将迎来多事之秋
金融男如何穿出“休闲范”?
名师指导:如何学习新概念英语第四册
英语学习的七条原则
状元谈英语学习方法
罗姆尼的竞选搭档救不了他
宝典经验:其实英语应该这样去学
同步英语学习方法介绍
苹果CEO自述:与死神擦肩
享受快乐英语学习法
雅虎如何使用回售阿里巴巴股权所得现金?
增长担忧压低全球股市
欧盟查获假货四分之三来自中国
学新概念英语第四册 英语高手的终极秘籍
叙利亚的真正考验
英语学习的七大新概念
巧学“新概念”——打好考试基础战役
新东方老师推荐的学习新概念的方法-1/3
中考英语动词不定式用法讲解
蓝 Blue
《新概念英语》如何背而不忘?
更新:中国央行意外下调利率
新概念英语学习手册:每天学习进度
泛欧交易所筹建小企业交易所
中考英语单项填空及其解题方法指导
Not a Chance to Regret
英语学习贴士:英语中背诵的方法
英语高手背单词经验方法分享
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |