The Senate is working on a proposal that would allow state Medicaid programs to pay for new gene therapies over time, and tie those payments to patients' outcomes.
Why it matters: Tying payments to how well drugs work, on this scale, would be an enormous policy change. But some experts are skeptical, saying such a model would perpetuate high prices.
Driving the news: Members of the Senate Finance Committee, led by Chairman Chuck Grassley, are exploring the idea. Grassley considers it a top priority.
How it works: Lawmakers are concerned that high prices and strained state budgets could prevent Medicaid recipients from getting access to new treatments like Zolgensma, a cure for a rare pediatric genetic disease with a $2.1 million price tag.
To address concerns that multiyear payment plans would cause manufacturers to inflate their overall price, the total cost of the payments would have to be lower than the price a state would pay all at once.
The other side: Critics have said proposals like this one don’t do enough to tackle drug prices.
Go deeper: The real drug pricing debate is upon us
