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Two influential congressional committees on Wednesday passed bills aimed at reigning in pharmacy benefit managers’ operations, signaling that lawmakers' scrutiny of the prescription middlemen is here to stay. With the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees' action, every congressional committee focused on healthcare has now passed proposals to increase oversight of PBMs, which negotiate prescription prices with drugmakers on behalf of insurers. More than 80% of the PBM market is controlled by CVS Health’s Caremark, UnitedHealth Group’s OptumRx and Cigna’s Express Scripts. The three parent companies that also operate some of the largest insurers, provider groups and retail pharmacy networks. (Tepper, 7/26)

Senators on the Finance Committee on Wednesday nearly unanimously passed a bill to clamp down on drug middlemen, but kicked the can down the road on some of the more challenging policies. (Wilkerson, 7/26)

It’s drug pricing déjà vu: Just as they did in 2019, House Democrats are pushing a bill that would allow Medicare to negotiate dozens of drug prices a year, offer those prices to all insurers, and crack down on price hikes. Unlike then, Democrats have a starting place: the new bill represents an expansion of the major drug pricing legislation the party passed last year. But the first round of drug price negotiations hasn’t even started yet, and the law is under attack from the pharmaceutical industry in court. (Cohrs and Wilkerson, 7/26)

A rift between Democrats and Republicans over health care transparency was on full display in the House on Wednesday. Republicans on the House Ways & Means Committee introduced a package this week that they say would increase health care transparency, but Democrats and outside groups are arguing that it doesn’t go far enough to force companies to disclose information about their ownership. They also think it goes too easy on the private equity firms that are buying up health care practices. (Cohrs, 7/26)

A trio of policy experts from Stanford’s Hoover Institution are launching a new free-market health care plan this week that they're hoping will become the go-to Republican message for 2024 campaigns, with a focus on expanding health care choices. Ever since the Affordable Care Act "repeal and replace" effort failed in 2017, Republicans have struggled to find a unifying vision for health care they can put forward in presidential and congressional races. (Knight, 7/27)

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell abruptly stopped talking at his weekly press conference with top Senate GOP leaders on Wednesday when he froze and appeared unable to continue for more than 30 seconds as he gripped the podium. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the third ranking Republican and a physician, walked with McConnell for a few steps near the Senate floor as other leaders resumed the press conference. (Walsh, 7/26)

The fall, which has not been previously reported, occurred July 14 after the flight out of Washington was canceled while everyone was on board. McConnell, R-Ky., who was a passenger, had a “face plant,” someone who was on the plane at the time but did not witness the fall told NBC News. That passenger also said they spoke to another passenger who helped tend to McConnell. McConnell has also recently been using a wheelchair as a precaution when he navigates crowded airports, said a source familiar with his practices. (Haake and Kapur, 7/27)