Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Catch up on the day's biggest business stories
Subscribe to Axios Closer for insights into the day’s business news and trends and why they matter
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Want a daily digest of the top Nashville news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios Nashville newsletter.
Want a daily digest of the top Columbus news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios Columbus newsletter.
Want a daily digest of the top Dallas news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios Dallas newsletter.
Sign up for Axios NW Arkansas
Stay up-to-date on the most important and interesting stories affecting NW Arkansas, authored by local reporters
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
The Trump administration is pushing ahead with its drug pricing agenda even as impeachment sucks up all the political oxygen, with plans to advance some of its most ambitious regulations and to work with Congress on legislation.
Why it matters: Drug pricing remains a huge issue that both parties want to run on in 2020. For Trump, there's a lot of pressure: His most ambitious proposals have either been tabled, are tied up in the courts or have yet to be implemented.
Driving the news: The administration is planing to have the next regulatory phase of the international pricing index — a notice of proposed rulemaking — ready to issue within a month, a senior administration official said.
- That leaves plenty of time for the industry to kill the proposal, but it's a signal that the administration isn't yet backing down from the proposal in the face of intense opposition from the drug industry.
- The administration has also been working with states on potential rules to allow drugs to be imported from other countries.
The administration is also working with Congress on drug pricing legislation, and thinks that it's still possible that the Senate passes a bill by the end of the year.
- The official said that the administration is working with Sens. Chuck Grassley and Ron Wyden to add a monthly cap on what seniors pay out-of-pocket for drugs through Medicare.
- The administration also wants change the way that bill would take money from drugmakers, to address industry concerns that it would hit some drugs and therapeutic areas harder than others.
The bottom line: Trump certainly has a political incentive to get something done on drug prices, but some of these policies could go a long way toward helping Americans — especially seniors — afford their drugs.
Yes, but: These administrative actions haven't yet been formally proposed, and could take years to finalize — meaning there's no guarantee they'll actually happen before the 2020 election.
Go deeper: Scoop: Trump administration pushing new drug spending cap