CENTRIST HOUSE DEMS RELEASE RIVAL DRUG PRICING BILL

There’s now more than one House Democratic drug pricing bill in town.

A group of centrist House Democrats on Friday said they planned to introduce a scaled-back bill aimed at lowering prescription drug prices, an alternative to the more sweeping measure backed by House Democratic leaders.

The move, led by Reps. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) and Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.), illustrates the concern among a handful of more moderate lawmakers about the far-reaching measure to lower drug prices, known as H.R. 3, that House Democratic leaders have included in their $3.5 trillion package now moving through committees.

A summary of Peters and Schrader’s bill states that it would “preserve innovation” from drug companies. The pharmaceutical industry has attacked H.R. 3 as threatening innovation.

The summary also states that it has policies with “bipartisan support,” in addition to lowering drug prices.

There’s also the Senate: While the new rival bill highlights the concerns of some moderates in the House with H.R. 3, that legislation was already widely expected to be altered before the final version of the bill, given the need to satisfy Senate Democratic moderates. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) is working on alternative legislation that is expected to be less far-reaching, though that measure is not finalized.