The White House has indicated it will endorse a more modest bill than House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's drug-pricing plan, according to The Hill.
Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Wyden's (D-Ore.) bill, called the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act, has received more bipartisan support than Ms. Pelosi's, leading some lawmakers to argue that it stands a better chance of becoming law.
"Lines of communication remain open with the speaker’s office, but the Grassley-Wyden proposal is the most likely solution that could advance on a bipartisan basis and achieve the president’s priority of lowering drug prices even further for all Americans," White House spokesman Judd Deere wrote in an email to The Hill.
Ms. Pelosi's bill is the only one proposed that would allow HHS to negotiate drug prices, which is something President Donald Trump called for in his 2016 campaign but has since backed away from.
The Grassley-Wyden bill, also referred to as the Senate Finance Committee bill, is focused specifically on lowering drug prices in Medicare. Ms. Pelosi's bill would lower prices in Medicare and for people with private insurance.
The Grassley-Wyden bill does require drug companies to pay Medicare back if their prices rise faster than inflation, though some Republicans have objected to that, and the White House has indicated it's open to taking the provision out, according to The Hill.
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