ICYMI: Grassley Expects Prescription Drug Bill to Pass by May 20

Speaking to a health-care summit in Coralville on Friday, Grassley said he expects that the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2019 will pass by May 20.

Rylee Wilson

February 14, 2020

 

Sen. Chuck Grassley pushed his plan to lower prescription drug prices to health-care professionals in Coralville on Friday, saying he expects the bipartisan bill to pass by May 20.

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“The reasons that’s an important date is because right before Christmas, there were a lot of health-care programs that sunset, so they have to be extended,” Grassley said in an interview with The Daily Iowan. “Usually we’d extend them for a year or two, but we extended them just to the middle of this year so we’d have a vehicle to move prescription drugs.”

 

Several healthcare programs are set to expire on May 22, including funding for measuring Medicare and Medicaid quality and funding for community mental health.

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Grassley told The DI he has a three-pronged approach to gaining bipartisan support for the bill – negotiating with House speaker Nancy Pelosi, gaining more Republican senate support, and getting endorsements from the President.

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Grassley was mentioned by President Trump during the State of the Union on Feb. 4. Trump said during the speech he would sign the bill immediately if it passed both chambers of congress.

 

Grassley said support from Trump, as well as from Vice President Pence is helpful in gaining more Republican support for the bill.

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