Top Democratic presidential candidates aligned on drug prices

Four of the top five fundraisers among Democratic presidential candidates have endorsed similar policies for reducing drug prices, but there are differences in the specificity of their plans.

Joe Biden, Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) have released healthcare proposals that would give the federal government power to set Medicare drug prices, open the U.S. drug market to importation, and seek to implement an international reference pricing scheme for drugs. The three serving senators in the group -- Harris, Sanders and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) -- have sponsored or co-sponsored legislation introduced in the current congress that seeks to implement similar policies, in addition to legislation that could give the government the right to impose compulsory licensing of drugs with prices that are “excessive” or constitute “abuses.” Harris also included the latter in her drug pricing plan. ...