Lowering the cost of prescription drugs is an issue that Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown has worked on for 20 years.

He's long been frustrated with the fact that the U.S. government can't negotiate with drug companies on prescriptions it pays for under Medicare. He recalled in an interview with Spectrum News that he “used to take busloads of seniors to Canada from Northern Ohio to buy the same drug, the same manufacturer, the same package."

The only difference? "The Canadian government negotiated directly with the drug companies and dropped the price by 40, 50, 60%," he said.

With many Americans finding it hard to pay for their drugs – particularly senior citizens, many of whom rely heavily on life-saving medications – his calls for change have only grown stronger. But that all might change soon if Democrats are able to pass their sweeping inflation-fighting, climate change and health care bill, which could reduce costs for millions of Americans.

What You Need To Know

  • Sentor Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio., told Spectrum News' Taylor Popielarz that he hopes to address prescription drug prices for once and for all through the reconcillation bill that addresses climate and prescription drug costs 

  • Democrats are aiming to pass the bill through the process known as reconciliation, which allows certain budgetary measures to pass with a simple majority rather than the 60-vote filibuster threshold by which most major legislation must reach in order to pass the chamber

  • Republicans argue the legislation “will reduce innovation" making it hard for people to have affordable drugs

  • But Sen. Brown argues that this is a long-awaited solution, and thinks all 50 Democrats in the Senate will ultimately back the sweeping measure

Lowering the cost of prescription drugs is a key part of the sweeping health care and climate bill the Senate is set to begin considering on Saturday. The bill would allow the government to negotiate drug prices for Medicare recipients and set a caps out-of-pocket medical costs at $2,000 for Medicare enrollees.  

While significant, the new rules wouldn’t go into effect until 2026 and only the 10 most expensive drugs could be negotiated on initially.

The legislation still faces an uphill battle in the Senate, as Republicans are opposed to this specific language and the broader package. Republicans believe the price control the Democrats and the Biden administration wants is “reckless” and will thwart innovation.

In a statement to Spectrum News, a spokesperson for Senator Rob Portman, R-Ohio., said that the bill "will reduce innovation and thus patients will have access to fewer new drugs and potentially life-saving treatment."

"It is the wrong approach at the wrong time," the spokesperson added.

But Sen. Brown argues that this is a long-awaited solution, and thinks all 50 Democrats in the Senate will ultimately back the sweeping measure.

“The drug companies have had so much power in this body," Brown told Spectrum News. "They essentially own the Republicans, but far too many Democrats went along with them too. And finally, we’re breaking that hold that the drug industry has on this body and we’re going to pass this law. So I can’t imagine any Democrat's going to stand in the way of that.”

Sen. Portman and other Senate Republicans are calling for a bipartisan approach to lowering prescription drug costs, but multiple efforts have failed in recent years.

Democrats are aiming to pass the bill through the process known as reconciliation, which allows certain budgetary measures to pass with a simple majority rather than the 60-vote filibuster threshold by which most major legislation must reach in order to pass the chamber. 

The bill still faces several hurdles going forward. First, the Parliamentarian – the Senate's unelected, nonpartisan arbiter of the rules – must determine if the measure complies with the chamber's budget rules.

Next, assuming universal Republican opposition, the measure needs the support of all 50 Senate Democrats, along with Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie breaking vote, in order to pass the bill with a simple majority in the evenly divded Senate.

That’s no small feat for a number of reasons, specifically the threat of COVID-19 — as the Senate does not allow for proxy voting — and the fact that fellow moderate holdout Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., has yet to sign off on the deal. 

The bill carries the strong backing of the Biden administration, which in recent days has put on a full-court press to tout the bill’s benefits for the American people and popular support for its provisions.

Spectrum News' Justin Tasolides and Kevin Frey contributed to this report.