The final text brings some changes, including the introduction of an escalation process when companies and NHS England cannot agree.

Senate Finance confirmation hearing concluded without a vote on Xavier Becerra’s nomination as Health and Human Services Department secretary. Republicans continued to express concerns with his background and views. But he is expected to win enough votes to clear the committee.

President Biden’s relationship with the US pharmaceutical industry is starting out with the starkest contrast imaginable with the initial approach of the Trump Administration – at least on the symbolic level.

‘We need the pharmaceutical industry … to always feel we’ve got their back to innovate,’ Becerra tells Senate Committee. ‘But we have to ensure that we’re getting our dollars’ worth.’

US research-based association says move to annual drug repricing undermines country’s recent efforts to support innovation and again calls for inclusive discussions around broad health system reforms to create funding headroom.

Arielle Woronoff joins the Biden Administration after four years of steering health policy at the Senate Finance Committee, including work on the Grassley-Wyden bill.

House Democrats push to remove the current limit on Medicaid rebates in upcoming COVID-19 relief package would likely leave many drug companies unscathed, but some expect bigger ticket drug pricing items will soon be on the agenda.

Innovation and price controls can coexist in the United States, COVID-19 contracts show. But drug pricing experts also acknowledge the unique circumstances of COVID-19 could make such contracts hard to replicate and argue that reference-pricing strategies may have limited ability to lower prices.

Hospital receive an average of 2.5 times what they pay for drugs in reimbursement from commercial payers, a white paper released by the trade group reports. And consolidation has increased the leverage hospitals wield in payment negotiations.