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With Democrats having gained control of the Senate and the presidency, some form of drug-pricing reform is likely. But with the raging COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing threats to the Affordable Care Act, Democrats are more likely to focus on those issues in the near term, according to Barrett Thornhill, a partner at the public affairs firm Forbes Tate in a call with UBS analysts.
The political dynamics of the House is one challenge. Even though Democrats have narrow control of the House, they also have an increasingly vocal progressive wing. For that reason, bipartisan healthcare policy from the Senate could “actually have some trouble when it goes to the House because it’s not left enough,” Thornhill said.
COVID-19 itself has stymied prior legislative attempts at drug-pricing reform, while President Trump’s executive orders face ongoing legal challenges.
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