As our readers know, from both their own experience and the articles written on our website, drug pricing is a hot issue right now. Given that we are also in the run up to an election year, it is a hot issue that is likely to stick around for quite some time. Politicians of all stripes and branches and levels of government are getting involved, with several Congressional committees conducting investigations and holding hearings, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) holding their own forum on the topic. Below is an outline of forums and hearings on drug pricing that we are aware of to date. We will aim to update the website with any new drug pricing information that comes through any of these hearings and forums.
HHS Pharmaceutical Forum – November 20, 2015
The Department of Health and Human Services is hosting a Pharmaceutical Forum on Friday, November 20, that promises to focus on “innovation, access, affordability, and better health.” HHS Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell is asking a variety of stakeholders to share information and their opinion as to how to address the complex problem of rising drug costs. This forum will bring together consumers, providers, employers, manufacturers, health insurance issuers, representatives from state and local governments, and other stakeholders to discuss how to promote competition and drive innovation, among other things.
The forum includes topics such as: “The Balance between Innovation & Smarter Spending,” “Addressing Patient Access & the Affordability of Prescription Drugs,” and “Value-Based & Outcomes-Based Pharmaceutical Purchasing Programs.” Invited speakers include CEOs of Merck & Co. and Kaiser Permanente, high-level federal employees from HHS and Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and representatives of other miscellaneous organizations like the Brookings Institution and AARP.
House of Representatives, Oversight Committee – TBA
The House Oversight Committee announced that it would hold a hearing on drug pricing practices “early next year,” according to Chairman Jason Chaffetz. The Committee is currently conducting an investigation and has reached out to a number of drug companies, including the prominent Valeant and Turing Pharmaceuticals, to gather information to continue their current actions of “actively reviewing drug pricing.”
As we have previously written, Elijah Cummings, the ranking member of this committee, has also formed a task force – the Affordable Drug Pricing Task Force – to engage in “meaningful action to combat the skyrocketing costs of pharmaceuticals.”
Senate Special Committee on Aging – December 9, 2015
The Senate Special Committee on Aging has tentatively set an initial hearing on their ongoing investigation into pharmaceutical drug pricing for December 9, 2015. Per Senators Susan Collins and Claire McCaskill, this hearing is the first of multiple.
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
While no hearing is currently set on drug pricing in this committee, during Dr. Robert Califf’s nomination hearing to head the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on November 17, 2015, Sen. Lamar Alexander focused questions on how he would help to “ensure that affordable drugs are available to American patients.” Sen. Alexander recognized that while it is not the job of the FDA to set drug prices, he would hope that the FDA can help the market “lower drug prices by approving generic drugs and other products as quickly as it possibly can, so there is more choice and competition in the market.”