The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is not only having a profound impact on our health care system, the American psyche, the stock market and the shelves at Costco — it will also affect what we can expect on drug pricing and 340B legislation.
While election years are generally not conducive for passing big bills in Congress, the epidemic presents a unique situation likely to close any hope for enacting new drug pricing legislation in 2020. Although some D.C. observers believe that a bipartisan bill sponsored by Senators Grassley (R-IA) and Wyden (D-OR) still has a good chance of passage, I am much more skeptical. I cover this issue and more in my monthly column.