Clinton’s Plan To Control Prescription Drug Costs Features Cap On Out-Of-Pocket Expenses
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's proposal would also allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug costs and increase federal scrutiny of pharmaceutical company pricing.
The New York Times:
Hillary Clinton Proposes Cap On Patients’ Drug Costs As Bernie Sanders Pushes His Plan
With voter fury rising over the high cost of prescription drugs, Hillary Rodham Clinton proposed capping out-of-pocket drug expenses at $250 a month on Tuesday while a rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, extolled his own plan and long record for pushing to lower drug costs. While Republican candidates for the White House want to repeal the Affordable Care Act and generally oppose interfering with the drug industry, Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Sanders are competing fiercely with each other to press for greater competition and new regulations to rein in pharmaceutical companies. (Healy and Sanger-Katz, 9/22)
The Wall Street Journal:
Hillary Clinton Focuses On Middle-Class Concerns About Health-Care Costs
Hillary Clinton, laying out her health-care agenda, is trying to shift the national debate surrounding the divisive Affordable Care Act to focus squarely on rising out-of-pocket costs of care. In Iowa on Tuesday, the Democratic presidential contender put forth ideas to control prescription-drug spending. On Wednesday, she’ll talk about other consumer costs, such as high copayments and deductibles. (Meckler, 9/22)
USA Today:
Hillary Clinton Unveils Plan To Lower Prescription Drug Costs
Hillary Clinton on Tuesday unveiled a plan to rein in prescription drug costs by forcing pharmaceutical companies to reinvest their profits into research and allowing for more generic and imported drugs. The proposal, which she outlined in a speech in Iowa on Tuesday, would also allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug costs and cap out-of-pocket expenses for individuals with chronic health problems. (Przybyla, 9/22)
The Washington Post:
Clinton Proposes Cap On Out-Of-Pocket Costs For Prescription Drugs
Clinton’s plan has several moving parts, some aimed at directly curbing profits of pharmaceutical companies and others to give the government a stronger role in constraining drug prices or making lower-priced medicine more available. She would allow Americans to reimport U.S.-made drugs from countries where they tend to be sold at lower prices. She would also allow the Medicare program to negotiate prices with drug manufactures. (Gearan and Goldstein, 9/22)
Reuters:
Clinton Plan On U.S. Drug Costs Adds To Pressure For Lower Prices
Hillary Clinton's campaign promise on Tuesday to cap prescription drug costs for U.S. consumers lends weight to efforts by health insurers, doctors' groups and consumers to address skyrocketing prices, industry experts said. Clinton, in the lead among Democratic presidential candidates, unveiled a plan that includes a $250 monthly cap on out-of-pocket costs prescription drugs, allowing the Medicare plan for the elderly to negotiate drug pricing and permitting Americans to purchase drugs from other countries at lower cost. (Berkrot, 9/22)
The Washington Post's Wonkblog:
The One Thing You Need To Know About Clinton’s War On High Drug Prices
It's almost an afterthought, but the last two bullet points dangling at the end of Hillary Rodham Clinton's manifesto against high drug prices are its linchpin: She wants to allow the government to flex its muscle and negotiate lower drug prices from pharmaceutical companies. (Johnson, 9/22)
The Fiscal Times:
Clinton Takes Aim At Big Pharma
With a new poster child for prescription drug price gouging to swing at, Hillary Clinton unveiled a wide-ranging proposal on Tuesday designed to rein in the skyrocketing drug costs that are draining government budgets and the pocketbooks of many Americans. (Pianin, 9/22)
The Wall Street Journal Washington Wire:
Health Lobbyists Aren’t Cheering Hillary Clinton’s Prescription Drug Plan
Hillary Clinton‘s prescription drug proposals are likely to get mixed reactions from the insurance lobby — and drugmakers already have come out swinging. The new head of the America’s Health Insurance Plans industry group said in an interview shortly before Mrs. Clinton’s plans were released that insurers have identified pharmaceutical price surges as a key threat to health costs, and that they plan to continue fighting on the issue. (Radnofsky, 9/22)
The Hill:
Big Pharma Attacks Clinton's Plan To Combat Drug Prices
The leading pharmaceutical lobbying group is lashing out against Hillary Clinton’s soon-to-be-released plan to combat rising drug prices. The head of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) released a statement Tuesday rebuking her proposals, which he warned would kill jobs, risk patient safety and halt investment in new cures for diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and cancer. (Ferris, 922)
In other news from the campaign trail -
Politico:
Biden Surges In New Bloomberg Poll
Vice President Joe Biden surged in a new national Bloomberg Politics poll of Democratic voters and independent voters leaning toward the Democratic Party released Wednesday morning, even though he has not announced his intentions for the presidency. Hillary Clinton earned a plurality of 33 percent, followed by Biden at 25 percent and independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders at 24 percent. Other candidates are polling within the margin of error. (Gass, 9/23)
The Cincinnati Enquirer:
John Kasich Appears On Late Night With Seth Meyers, Picks Up A New Donor
It looks like John Kasich got himself a new campaign donor last night. The Ohio governor had a tame appearance last night on NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers," getting a chance to explain his positions on the economy, faith, Medicaid expansion and debate strategy. (Thompson, 9/23)