Senate seeks broader insulin price bill

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill March 31 that would cap the out-of-pocket cost for insulin at $35, and the Senate is working on legislation of its own, according to Kaiser Health News.

Four things to know: 

1. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has tapped Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, to create a compromise bill that both parties could accept, according to Kaiser Health News. 

2. Ms. Collins told the news outlet that they came up with an outline based on a bill they worked on together three years ago. She said that bill goes beyond capping what diabetes patients pay and aims to lower the prices drugmakers charge. 

3. The previous bill, introduced in 2019, aimed to roll back insulin costs to 2006 levels. It would have barred rebate payments for insulin to pharmacy benefit managers, according to Kaiser Health News. Drug manufacturers who agreed to return to 2006 levels could then raise prices each year only at the rate of inflation. 

4. Sen. Rafael Warnock, D-Ga., has also introduced legislation capping the cost of insulin at $35. His plan, similar to the bill the House passed, does not address list prices and pharmacy benefit managers. Critics say insurers would likely raise premiums, as they would likely be forced to take on the costs that patients no longer pay, according to Kaiser Health News. 

 

  

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