As Congress returned this week, several lawmakers rushed to introduce bills aimed at lowering the price Americans pay for prescription drugs, according to STAT.
A breakdown of the bills:
1. Drug importation. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., unveiled a bill that would grant Americans the right to import drugs from Canada for personal use.
2. Drugmaker "tactics." Mr. Grassley said he plans to bring back two bills that stalled in past sessions, including the CREATES Act, which aims to crack down on the anti-competitive behaviors of brand name drug manufacturers. Another bill looks to ban the "pay-for-delay" practice, in which brand name drugmakers pay generic manufacturers to delay production of off-patent drugs. New Jersey's Democrat Sen. Cory Booker is expected to revive a bill introduced last month to prevent drug companies from manipulating state Medicaid coverage decisions.
3. Negotiation powers. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Rep. Francis Rooney, R-Fla., introduced legislation aimed at lowering drug costs. It would allow Medicare's prescription drug benefit to negotiate prices with drugmakers.
4. International pricing reference. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. And and Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., planned to introduce three bills Jan. 10, including one similar to the Trump administration's "international pricing index," which aim to keep prices more in line with the lower prices paid in many other developed countries for the same drug. Mr. Sander's proposal includes a provision that could strip drug companies exclusive patents if negotiations stall, opening generic competition to drugs deemed "excessively priced." The other two bills focus on Medicare negotiation and drug importation from Canada.
5. Federal agency for generics. Elizabeth Warren, D- Mass., will likely revive her bill to establish a federal agency to manufacture generic drugs.
Read the full report here.