Democrats reach deal on Medicare prescription drug prices in social spending bill
WASHINGTON — Democrats on Tuesday reached an agreement to allow Medicare to negotiate prices on some prescription drugs, one of their last remaining hurdles as they try to hold votes on a major social spending and climate plan by the end of this week.
The Medicare drug price negotiation policy, left out of an earlier draft of the $1.85 trillion bill because of disagreements, marks the culmination of 15 years of Democratic campaign promises to allow the federal government to use its bargaining power to try to bring down the price of drugs.
“This deal will directly reduce out-of-pocket drug spending for millions of patients every time they visit the pharmacy or doctor,” said Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., while announcing the agreement.
Like the social spending bill on the whole, the
