Democrats escalate probe of Trump admin drug pricing deals

Congressional Democrats are demanding pharmaceutical companies immediately disclose the un-redacted details of their “most favored nation” agreements with the Trump administration, according to a source familiar with the effort.

The request to drugmakers comes from the potential health policy leaders in Congress next year — Democratic Reps. Frank Pallone Jr. (N.J.) of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Richard Neal (Mass.) of the Ways and Means Committee and Bobby Scott (Va.) of the Education and Workforce Committee and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) of the Senate Finance Committee.

It represents a significant escalation of Democrats’ oversight and signals to pharmaceutical companies the new Democratic majority is going to scrutinize their dealings with the Trump administration.

If the companies can’t provide details of the agreements for some reason — such as potential non-disclosure agreements with the White House— they were told to meet with lawmakers in the next two weeks to discuss how they plan to fulfill the request, the source said.

The same four lawmakers sent a letter in March requesting copies of the most-favored-nation agreements, which the administration ignored. Once in power, Democrats will have the ability to demand documents, issue subpoenas and hold hearings on the Trump administration’s agenda.

Democrats have been skeptical of the administration’s drug pricing deals, which both Trump administration officials and company executives have said are confidential. Lawmakers want to know what the drug companies are getting in return for their agreements to lower prices for Medicaid.

Under the agreements, manufacturers have pledged not to charge more than the lowest international price for select products.

The deals have been a key part of the Trump administration’s health agenda, and lawmakers want verify claims Trump and other administration officials have been making about the savings the American people receive.