Republicans strip $35 insulin price crap from a Democratic bill but lay blame on Senate rules for the decision that could raise the price of the drug for many patients in the United States.
The insulin cap is a long-running ambition of Democratic lawmakers who want it to apply to patients on Medicare and private insurance. However, Republicans left the portion that applies to Medicare patients untouched but stripped the insulin cap for other patients.
Insulin Price Cap
The decision comes as bipartisan talks on a broader insulin pricing bill faltered between lawmakers earlier this year. Earlier in the weekend, the Senate parliamentarian ruled that part of the Democrats' cap, included in the Inflation Reduction Act, did not comply with the rules that allow them to advance a bill under the process known as reconciliation.
The tactic is a process that helps Democratic lawmakers avert a GOP filibuster but gave the Republicans an opening to jettison the bill. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said that right-wing lawmakers have just gone on the record in favor of expensive insulin, as per the Washington Post.
There were some GOP lawmakers who did not support the price cap in the 57-43 vote for the measure. However, it was not enough to allow Democrats to push forward with the bill by meeting the threshold for passage.
The decision regarding the bill comes as more than one in five insulin users on private medical insurance pay more than $35 per month for the medicine. There are roughly 7 million Americans who need to take insulin every day.
According to ABC News, the Republican lawmakers that joined Democrats in support of the measure were Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, Josh Hawley, Cindy Hyde-Smith, John Kennedy, Lisa Murkowski, and Dan Sullivan.
Inflation Reduction Act
The scrapping of the insulin price cap was quickly seized on by Democrats and stirred controversy beyond them, with critics of the GOP citing the sometimes startling cost of needed insulin for diabetics.
However, Republicans accused Democrats of being misleading about a vote that amounted to a technicality rather than a policy difference. Ron Johnson posted on Twitter that Democrats distorted a "Democrat 'gotcha' vote."
He argued that in reality, the left wanted to break Senate rules to pass an insulin pricing cap instead of going through regular order. He noted that he previously "voted for an amendment that Dems blocked, to provide insulin at cost to low-income Americans."
The insulin price cap was included in the Inflation Reduction Act, which attempts to address climate change, the high cost of prescription drugs, and lower the deficit by roughly $300 billion. On Saturday night and into Sunday morning, senators voted on amendments to Democrats' major spending bill that tackles healthcare, climate, and taxes.
The legislation was passed through the budget reconciliation process which means that all 50 Democrats and one tie-breaker vote from Vice President Kamala Harris were needed. On Saturday, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that despite a few cuts from the Senate parliamentarian, the bill overall is still a legislative win for Democrats, NPR reported.
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