This week, Congress returns to Washington with 11 days to finalize a government spending bill. House appropriators will be meeting throughout the week to finalize their respective packages which means we should expect to see signs of progress by weeks end. However, questions regarding several key health care issues – drug pricing and market stabilization – continue to linger over the debate.

PhRMA is actively engaged in a full court press to modify the donut hole provision included in the February budget deal. While Democrats seem open to this, it’s only on the condition that other provisions are substituted to help lower costs. The CREATES Act is on the table as a potential pay-for despite heavy lobbying against the bill from PhRMA in the past. This week is a real test of PhRMA’s ability to get what they want and stop what they don’t.