Illustration: Gabriella Turrisi/Axios
Talks are intensifying on a year-end health care package, and a new offer Republican negotiators sent Democrats today could signal a deal is close.
Driving the news: There are two important new developments that we noted were possible earlier today.
- Republicans added a provision requiring PBMs to pass through 100% of rebates to the plan sponsor in the commercial market.
- The GOP also dropped a bipartisan plan from Sens. John Cornyn and Richard Blumenthal that would lower drug prices by targeting patent thickets that can delay competition.
What they're saying: The advocacy group Patients for Affordable Drugs Now said the Cornyn-Blumenthal bill, which passed the Senate unanimously, should not be removed.
- "Its exclusion would serve no one except Big Pharma and industry allies," said the group's executive director, Merith Basey. "Congress has a clear opportunity to deliver real savings for patients and taxpayers, and we urge lawmakers to include this bill in the final package."
- America's Health Insurance Plans pushed back on the commercial market PBM changes.
- "Americans will continue to face increasingly unaffordable prescription drug costs if Congress embraces policies that eliminate plan sponsor choice and hamper the ability of plans to leverage competition and negotiate lower drug prices," the group said.
What's next: It's not immediately clear if Democrats will send back a counteroffer or if a final agreement could be reached soon.
