15 August 2019 - A top Trump administration health official on Thursday indicated that the administration is pushing forward with a controversial proposal to lower drug prices, despite opposition from some fellow Republicans.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma told reporters that the proposal to lower certain drug prices in Medicare by tying them to lower prices in other countries, known as the International Price Index, is a “top priority.”

The proposal has drawn fierce opposition from the pharmaceutical industry, a powerful force in Washington, as well as from many congressional Republicans, who warn that the move amounts to “price controls” and is a departure from free-market GOP orthodoxy.

For example, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) announced his opposition to the idea in June.

Read The Hill article