Modest Drug Pricing Action Looks Likely in 2020 According To Health Care Partner

The bipartisan desire for lower U.S. drug prices will keep fueling congressional efforts in 2020 to make medicines more affordable, although partisan views of how to achieve lower prices will remain an obstacle. These views are according to health care partner Tom Bulleit (Washington, D.C.) who was quoted in a Law360 article published on Jan. 1. He expects that “political paralysis” will likely prevent the U.S. Congress from making any significant advances at the federal level on prescription drug prices.

The Trump administration is trying to compel disclosure of drug prices in television ads; it is also planning a pilot project in Medicare Part B that would link drug prices to reimbursement in other developed countries.

But Tom notes that the disclosure policy likely would “do very little” to lower prices, and tying drug prices to non-U.S. reimbursement “will be struck down or stuck in litigation.”