Democrats’ Drug Deal Offers Slimmer Savings Than Earlier Plans

Democrats’ plan to negotiate drug prices would save the government $78.8 billion over a decade, according to an analysis by a nonpartisan congressional scorekeeper released Thursday.

The two major pillars of Democrats’ drug pricing legislation — empowering the government to seek lower drug prices and requiring drugmakers to pay back profits from raising the cost of medicines above inflation — would reduce government spending by about $128.2 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The proposal, which Republicans have warned would stifle innovation, would cause one fewer drug to come onto the market in the next decade ...