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Far more aggressive than anything they expected to see from a Republican Administration, the pharmaceutical industry was blindsided by a proposal by the Trump White House to import some of the price controls imposed by Europe’s single-payer healthcare systems. But given the Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives starting in January, some policy analysts argue that the changing political dynamics will actually work to the advantage of the Administration’s Part B drug pricing plan in the new Congress.

Far more aggressive than anything they expected to see from a Republican Administration, the pharmaceutical industry was blindsided by a proposal by the Trump White House to import some of the price controls imposed by Europe’s single-payer healthcare systems. But given the Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives starting in January, some policy analysts argue that the changing political dynamics will actually work to the advantage of the Administration’s Part B drug pricing plan in the new Congress. On the other hand, other observers suggests that once the midterm election heat dissipates, influential members of both political parties will remain committed to their long time argument that high prices are necessary to promote innovation. How these differing perspectives are sorted out in the political and public arenas in the year ahead will help determine the future course of drug pricing. But given all the political & policy variables at work, the odds still favor minimal change in actual drug pricing during 2019.