President Trump should take real steps to actually lower drug prices, including ... supporting expanded Medicare negotiation...
Support expanded Medicare negotiation to lower drug prices.
Occurrences
Lowering the prices drug manufacturers charge, including an expansion of Medicare negotiation;
I’m proud to partner with my friend and colleague, Senator Klobuchar, and reintroduce the SMART Prices Act. This bill will build on the Inflation Reduction Act by giving Medicare the ability to negotiate the prices of more prescription drugs and lower the cost of the prescription drugs Vermonters need, faster.
Evidence
U.S. Senators Peter Welch and Amy Klobuchar reintroduced the Strengthening Medicare and Reducing Taxpayer (SMART) Prices Act, aiming to expand Medicare's ability to negotiate drug prices, thereby lowering costs for consumers and reducing federal spending.
Senator Welch celebrated the White House's selection of 15 additional prescription drugs for Medicare price negotiations, building upon the Inflation Reduction Act's provisions that he helped pass.
Senator Welch criticized President Trump's Executive Order that aimed to undermine Medicare's drug price negotiation program, emphasizing his commitment to protecting these provisions.
Senator Welch, along with Senate Democrats, outlined plans to build on existing reforms to deliver lower prescription drug prices and criticized the administration's inaction on drug pricing.
Senators Peter Welch and Josh Hawley introduced legislation to lower prescription drug prices by prohibiting pharmaceutical companies from selling drugs in the U.S. at higher prices than the international average.
Senators Peter Welch and Roger Marshall introduced the Drug Price Transparency in Medicaid Act of 2023 to limit abusive pricing practices by pharmacy benefit managers, aiming to reduce drug costs.
Senator Welch introduced the 340B PATIENTS Act to protect the 340B drug pricing program, ensuring lower drug costs for vulnerable populations.
Senators Peter Welch and Amy Klobuchar introduced legislation to enhance Medicare's ability to negotiate drug prices, aiming to lower prescription drug costs for consumers.
CMS selected 15 high-cost drugs for the third Medicare Drug Price Negotiation cycle and, for the first time, included drugs paid under Medicare Part B; negotiations were scheduled for 2026 with any agreed prices effective in 2028.
Senator Welch introduced S. 3019 to change Medicare drug-price negotiation rules for orphan drugs and raise the spending threshold for negotiating certain rare-disease drugs from $200 million to $400 million.
Assessments
Peter Welch repeatedly and concretely supported broader Medicare drug-price negotiation authority by sponsoring and reintroducing bills to expand it, including measures targeting orphan drugs and additional price-negotiation power. The federal negotiation program also continued to expand in implementation, but the evidence does not show Welch’s specific legislative push was enacted into law. That makes this a serious, ongoing policy effort with partial fulfillment rather than full delivery.
Senator Welch repeatedly introduced, co-sponsored, and advocated for legislation to expand Medicare's ability to negotiate lower drug prices. He also supported and defended existing and proposed reforms, celebrated incremental gains under the Inflation Reduction Act, and took bipartisan and public actions on drug pricing. However, there is no evidence provided that the specific, broader expansion of Medicare negotiation authority—beyond the provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act—was fully enacted into law during this term. Thus, while significant effort and partial progress have been made, the complete fulfillment of the promise remains partial.