Report: Vulnerable Senate Republicans “Balk” at Effort to Lower Prescription Drug Prices

Fearing backlash from conservative groups and the pharmaceutical industry, GOP senators like Tillis, McSally, Gardner, Ernst are dodging questions and have all “either expressed concerns… or declined to back” one bipartisan proposal

A new report from The Hill details how a slew of vulnerable Republican are in a “bind” on how to address prescription drug costs, a “major issue for voters” that “invites a backlash from both conservatives and the pharmaceutical industry.” Senators Thom Tillis, Martha McSally, Cory Gardner, and Joni Ernst have all “either expressed concerns… or declined to back” one bipartisan proposal.

With their constituents increasingly concerned about medications getting more expensive, these Republican incumbents are going to struggle to defend their records and explain why they have failed to rein in the rising cost of prescription drugs.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

The Hill: Vulnerable Republicans balk at Trump-backed drug pricing bill

By Peter Sullivan

October 26, 2019

Key Points:

• Vulnerable GOP senators up for reelection next year are giving the cold shoulder to a bipartisan bill aimed at lowering drug prices.

• GOP Sens. Thom Tillis (N.C.), Martha McSally (Ariz.), Cory Gardner (Colo.) and Joni Ernst (Iowa), who all face potentially tough races next year, have either expressed concerns about the legislation or declined to back it.

• Senators who haven’t supported the bill are highlighting the bind they face. On the one hand, the bill has the support of President Trump, and lowering drug prices is a popular issue with voters. But on the other hand, supporting the bill breaks with GOP orthodoxy and invites a backlash from both conservatives and the pharmaceutical industry.

• Tillis told The Hill that he has “concerns” with the bill, saying that he wants to focus on middlemen known as pharmacy benefit managers and other parts of the supply chain, not just pharmaceutical companies themselves to lower drug prices.

• McSally has also expressed concerns, declining to say if she would support the bill in an interview with The Arizona Republic in August… A McSally aide [on Friday]… did not give a firm position on the measure either way.

• Gardner’s office did not respond to a request for comment on whether he supports the bill.

• Ernst, Grassley’s fellow Iowan, has also so far declined to endorse the bill.

• Lowering drug prices is also a major issue for voters. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll in September found that 70 percent of the public said lowering drug prices should be a “top priority.”

• But conservative groups have attacked the bill for its limits on price increases in Medicare, and FreedomWorks called the idea “price controls” in July.

• The pharmaceutical industry — a powerful force in Washington and a major source of campaign contributions — is also staunchly opposed to the bill.

• “Voters are worried about prescription drugs getting more expensive, but many Republican incumbents on the ballot haven’t taken meaningful steps to bring down prices and are now dodging questions about legislation,” said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesman Stewart Boss.

Read the full story here.