The pharmaceutical industry is going on the offensive against the barrage of political attacks from all directions over skyrocketing drug prices.
PhRMA, which represents dozens of the world's highest-grossing drug companies, is trying to escape the brunt of that assault, in part by blaming insurers and federal regulators for the increased costs.
"Just looking at the list price doesn't tell the full picture of what's going on in the marketplace," Lori Reilly, executive vice-president for policy for PhRMA, told reporters during a briefing at their downtown office.
"We think it's fair to have a conversation about costs, but if we're going to do that, let's have a conversation about costs generally, and where costs in the healthcare system are coming from," Reilly said as she delivered a 30-slide powerpoint with topics like "benefits of medicines to patients" and "putting prescription drug spending in context."
The PhRMA counterargument comes in response to a slew of political attacks against drug companies, mostly by Democrats such as 2016 hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. But drug companies are becoming a bipartisan target, with GOP contender Marco Rubio recently taking a stab at the industry.
"It has become a major consumer issue. Anyone who isn't talking about it is going to be seen as tone-deaf to the concerns of American consumers," said Dan Mendelson, president of the healthcare consulting firm Avalere.
Read more on TheHill.com or in print tomorrow morning.
MURPHY SEEKS TO ALLAY DEM MENTAL HEALTH CONCERNS: Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) on Tuesday introduced an updated version of his sweeping mental health reform legislation that seeks to allay some of Democrats' concerns.
The move comes one day before the bill is marked up in the House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee on Wednesday. The measure, billed as the Republican response to the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., when it was first introduced in 2013, has been controversial and delayed for years, but is now taking steps forward.
The bill has some bipartisan support -- 43 of the 154 cosponsors are Democrats. But Democrats on the Energy and Commerce committee have raised objections to several core parts of the bill.
The updated version of the bill seeks to address some of those concerns. However, many parts of the bill that have drawn objections from committee Democrats remain in place.
The new bill was only shared with committee Democrats on Tuesday morning, and ranking member Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) said that he still has to review the changes, but cannot support the bill in the form it had been in previously. Read more here.
ABORTION OPPONENTS PRESSURING SENATE: Anti-abortion groups like Susan B. Anthony's List and Americans United for Life are pressuring Senate leaders to hold a vote sooner rather than later on a key healthcare bill that also defunds Planned Parenthood.
The Planned Parenthood provisions are one part of a massive budget reconciliation package that would repeal nearly all mandates under ObamaCare. The Senate is expected to vote the week before Thanksgiving, though the bill's fate is in question with at least three GOP senators pledging to oppose any efforts that don't fully repeal ObamaCare. Several other members, including Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), have voiced concerns about defunding Planned Parenthood. Read the letter here.
ELECTION WATCH: Gubernatorial elections in several states this year – including Mississippi and Louisiana – could sway the Medicaid expansion battle. By far the biggest battle will likely be in Kentucky, which has been cast as a proxy for the nation's fight on ObamaCare. Polls there will close at 6 p.m.
The fight for control of Virginia's GOP-led statehouse could also be key. Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) has repeatedly said he can't push through Medicaid expansion without a Democratic-leaning Senate.