Grassley Rejects Trump's Plan to Lower Drug Prices

Rep. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, on Wednesday announced his opposition to President Donald Trump’s proposal to lower drug prices, The Hill reported.

Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said he’s against the plan, which ties the prices Medicare pays for drugs to those paid in other countries — known as the International Pricing Index.

“I don't think that this administration's approach on international pricing is going to be to the benefit of the adoption of and research for modern drugs,” Grassley said, The Hill reported.

“You've heard me say in these meetings before that I'm going to wait until there's a real proposal to put out before I take a stand, but I think I've studied it long enough now that I'll stick by what I just told you,” he added.

According to The Hill, if Trump’s strategy was to get the industry to come to the table with other drug cost-lowering ideas, Grassley’s opposition makes that harder now.

Instead, Grassley is working on his own proposal to lower drug prices along with the top Democrat on the panel, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, The Hill reported. Grassley said a meeting with GOP senators on the committee aimed to “outline kind of the parameters,” though no decisions were made.

Grassley’s plan is expected to include a restructuring of the incentives for insurers and drug companies in Medicare’s prescription drug benefit, known as Part D, as well as changes to incentives in Part B that critics say drive up the price of drugs in doctors offices, The Hill reported.

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