00:00 Speaker A
So, Ben, Congress is back. New deadlines abound, but the biggest one is January 1, when Obamacare’s enhanced subsidies are due to expire. This was a major stalemate in government shutdown negotiations. So let’s explain what’s at stake for Americans and what a realistic path forward looks like.
00:20 ben
Indeed, it is. So there’s three weeks left in Congress, and this health care vote is going to happen one way or another. This was part of the closure agreement and the promise of a vote. The problem at the moment is that it’s not clear what will actually be voted on. This could be a partisan campaign that falls short of 60 votes and does nothing for the 20 million Americans who rely on Obamacare’s enhanced benefits, or it could be a substantive agreement that both sides are seeking.
00:46 ben
It’s really hard work at the moment. Well, there’s a pretty strong disagreement. That will be hashed out this week. We hear that negotiations are underway, and a Senate hearing on the issue will be held on Wednesday to discuss health care pricing issues. So this week is the week to be hashed out. This week, several provisions related to AI were decided on short notice that are also of interest to the business world. What lawmakers are trying to do is include some of these provisions in the national defense authorization bill at the end of the year.
01:10 ben
One concerns prohibiting states from regulating AI, and the other concerns exporting AI chips. There are big opponents on Capitol Hill who support this, but there are also big opponents. So that’s what we’re trying to include as well. These are the two big economic issues that Congress has to deal with, in addition to the many other things that need to get done before December 18th, when everyone goes home for Christmas break.
01:31 Speaker A
Yeah, but the Christmas holidays are definitely going to be busy. But there is also a new agreement between the US and UK on zero terrorism for pharmaceuticals and medical technology, with the UK now agreeing to increase payments for medicines. So how important is this and what does it actually mean for drug manufacturers and future pricing policy?
01:47 ben
Yes, this is a significant change. While the Trump administration has touted this as an agreement in principle, there are clearly still some details to be ironed out. But as you mentioned, the main benefit from the Trump administration is lower tariffs, and the main benefit from the UK side is to increase the prices we pay for certain new experimental drugs, certain new drugs, not necessarily drugs that are already on the market.
02:03 ben
So, here’s the change. This is a big win for pharmaceutical companies. I think obviously Bristol-Myers Squibb has already made a statement about how they intend to increase their investment or may not be able to increase their investment as a result of this transaction. That kind of helps both sides of this deal. Well, being able to use tariffs to level the playing field when it comes to how much rich countries pay for drugs is also a victory for the Trump administration’s case.
02:24 ben
UK, UK is going to pay a little more. The U.S. will probably pay a little less because of lower tariffs. It’s limited, so we still have a ways to go, but there is movement in that direction. I think there is a general backwards thinking here. That means the Trump administration is backing away even further from tariffs. Henrietta Treize, who works at Veda Partners and is always a smart person on these topics, says her view is that this is similar to the sense that semiconductor and pharmaceutical tariffs are unlikely to be lowered in the coming months.
02:52 ben
These are two big areas that have been promised for months by the Trump administration. We haven’t seen too many details, but the details we have are similar to what we have in the UK: exemptions, no customs duties. So her sense is that the new tariffs President Trump has been promising since this summer aren’t coming very quickly and are, in her words, stalled. So this could be kind of a win even for people who don’t really like tariffs on these particular industries.
03:12 Speaker A
Yes, there are some fascinating ones. The next few weeks are going to be very busy, Ben. Thank you very much.
