Trending News Today: Lawmakers Meet with Trump to Discuss Drug Price Negotiation

Yesterday, Democratic lawmakers met with President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Tom Price to discuss approaches to lower drug prices. During the meeting, the legislators proposed a House bill that would allow the government to negotiate Medicare drug prices, which is something Trump has previously endorsed, according to Kaiser Health News. Part D prices are currently set by private insurers, but the new bill would allow the HHS secretary to create the formulary and drug costs for these plans.

House Speaker Paul Ryan recently said that criticism of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) replacement bill was “typical growing pains,” according to Politico. Ryan speculated that some lawmakers may not understand the legislative reconciliation process, which is why they are condemning the bill. Addressing the concerns of conservatives, Ryan said that lawmakers had to take a less expansive approach to replacing the health law, otherwise they would be met with a filibuster by Senate Democrats.

GOP lawmakers plan to move forward with voting on the ACA replacement bill without verification from the Congressional Budget Office. Without verification, lawmakers are unable to determinehow much it would cost the government and enrollees over the next 10 years, The Wall Street Journal reported. Additionally, the bill may lead to significant coverage losses, as speculated by other reviews, but these changes would be unknown at the time of the vote.