WASHINGTON — One of the top health care committees in the Senate is assembling ideas for bipartisan legislation to address drug shortages, three Senate aides and three lobbyists told STAT.
The talks, led by Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and ranking member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) are in the early days, but they could move the debate over drug shortage reforms into a new phase. The committee has jurisdiction over Medicare and Medicaid payment policies for hospitals. Other committees that have tried tackling the issue have jurisdiction mostly over the Food and Drug Administration.
The panel is tentatively aiming to hold a hearing on the issue in November, the sources said. The panel has also started accepting input from outside stakeholders, one lobbyist said.