Senate Bill Aims to Tame Drug Costs With Inflation Link

A bipartisan Senate bill would yield $100 billion in savings on prescription-drug spending over a decade, two of its sponsors said, in part by penalizing pharmaceutical companies for raising prices faster than the rate of inflation.

The legislation, which has the backing of the White House, contains several proposals designed to reduce government outlays in Medicare and Medicaid. It also seeks to limit what patients who have Medicare drug plans would have to spend out of their own pockets on prescriptions.