The bipartisanproposal has gone through the Senate Finance Committee but therehasn't been a vote on it, with no sign that there ever will be.(Photo: Shutterstock)

The Prescription Drug Pricing Act, a joint effort betweenSenator Chuck Grassley, R-IA, and Senator Ron Wyden, D-OR, has beensitting in limbo on the Senate's legislative calendar "for months,"according to a Health Care Finance News.

But if it ever made it to an actual vote, the CongressionalBudget Office has estimated that it could save more than $94billion over the course of the next 10 years.

Related: How states could take the lead on drug pricereform

How it achieves this miracle is due in part to strict pricereporting controls on pharmaceutical companies and the continuanceof drug manufacturer rebates, the report says, but whether it willactually get a chance to do so remains to be seen. It's alreadygone through the Senate Finance Committee but there hasn't been avote on it, with no sign that there ever will be.

One thing the bill does is rein in drug price increases inMedicare Part D, with increases limited to the pace of inflation;overages would have to be paid back to Medicare as inflationrebates. In addition, Medicare beneficiaries would also see theirout-of-pocket costs capped, at $3,100—and that would start in2022.

There would also be a provision requiring manufacturers of somesingle-dose container or package drugs refund Medicare Part B fordiscards; that by itself would save an additional $9 billion, andanother $3.4 billion would be saved by redesigning Part D.

Beneficiaries would save money under the bill as well.

Some Senate Republicans have opposed the bill, viewing it asprice controls, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has saidhe probably wouldn't bring it up for a vote without substantialchanges. And of course there's opposition to it from America'sHealth Insurance Plans and Pharmaceutical Research andManufacturers of America.

Another proposal competing with the PDPA, advanced by HouseSpeaker Nancy Pelosi, would require the federal government and thepharmaceutical industry to directly negotiate prices. The CBO estimated that plan would slash Medicare drugspending by $369 billion over the coming decade.

Read more: 

• Brand-name prescription drug prices double in 6 to8 years
• Majority of Americans support current efforts tobring down drug prices
• Is killing drug rebates really the answer to highdrug prices?