The drug-pricing bills passed Thursday would take aim at the tactics that drug makers use to protect their monopolies and market share, which help keep drug prices high. One would seek to ban “pay-for-delay” deals, in which brand-name manufacturers pay makers of generic pharmaceuticals to delay bringing a lower-priced drug to market. The measures are considered low-hanging fruit that would not substantially lower what Americans and their insurers pay for drugs. Still, Democrats and their allies framed the bills as a test for Senate Republicans to make good on their pledge to lower drug prices. The Senate health committee plans to mark up the legislation this summer, focusing less on expansion of coverage and more on the cost of care.

Source: New York Times May 17, 2019 00:00 UTC