How the bio­phar­ma in­dus­try is help­ing to pay for the bi­par­ti­san in­fra­struc­ture bill

Sen­a­tors on Sun­day fi­nal­ized the text of a mas­sive, bi­par­ti­san in­fra­struc­ture bill that con­tains lit­tle that might im­pact the bio­phar­ma in­dus­try oth­er than two ways the leg­is­la­tors are plan­ning to pay for the $1.2 tril­lion deal.

On the one hand, sen­a­tors are seek­ing to fur­ther de­lay a Trump-era Medicare Part D rule re­lat­ed to drug re­bates, this time un­til 2026. Sen­a­tors claim the rule could end up sav­ing about $49 bil­lion (and that num­ber in­creased this week to $51 bil­lion), but the PBM in­dus­try has at­tacked it as it would re­move re­bates from a safe har­bor that pro­vides pro­tec­tion from fed­er­al an­ti-kick­back laws.

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