Senator Tammy Baldwin and two of her Democratic partymates have joined forces to introduce a new bill aimed at keeping drug prices low.
Sen. Baldwin, along with fellow Senators Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Peter Welch of Vermont, has introduced the Strengthening Medicare and Reducing Taxpayer, or SMART, Prices Act.
They say the bill would “expand the number of drugs that Medicare can negotiate lower drug prices for, reduce federal spending, and give the Department of Health and Human Services stronger tools to negotiate lower drug prices in Medicare Part B and Part D.”
This legislation also builds on the Baldwin-backed Inflation Reduction Act, which was passed into law in 2022.
Sen. Baldwin called the bill important because “No Wisconsinite should be forced to forgo the medication they need to stay healthy because of cost,” and called it a crackdown on “greedy drug companies.”
According to preliminary estimates from a model by West Health and Verdant Research, if the SMART Prices Act were enacted in 2026, it would save 33 percent more by 2030 than current law.
It would also allow Medicare to begin negotiations earlier and bring down the price of more expensive drugs.
