'Who Would Get The Money?': Senator Ted Cruz Explores New Bill That Could End Up Raising Healthcare Prices

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore/CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr

At today's Senate Commerce Committee, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) questioned witnesses about a new bill that would affect drug prices in the US.

During a Senate Commerce Committee meeting, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) questioned witnesses about a new bill that would affect drug prices in the US. Cruz opened by welcoming the witnesses and noting the presence of four doctors. He went on to discuss the potential trade-offs associated with the bill, particularly when it comes to government regulation, which he warned can create compliance costs and barriers to entry for competitors. 

The bill in question would impose contractual disclosure requirements, requiring Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) to share data on how much they pay providers and manufacturers for each drug, and it would also prohibit practices like clawbacks and spread pricing. Cruz asked Dr. Mulligan whether the bill's requirements could lead to more or less consolidation in the PBM market, to which Mulligan suggested that the bill without an exemption for smaller businesses would be counterproductive. 

Cruz went on to ask Mulligan how the bill would impact drug prices for the average American, to which Mulligan responded that drug prices would go up and could add up to $10 billion a year in aggregate, which would hurt patients by driving up costs. Cruz asked who would benefit from the bill if consumers would lose money, to which Mulligan responded that the winners would be manufacturers like big pharma and pharmacy companies. Finally, Cruz asked about the additional costs to the federal government if the bill were to pass, to which Mulligan estimated up to $400 billion in cost to taxpayers over ten years.