Dem bill would undo big lobbying win for drug maker Amgen

Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) introduced a bill Wednesday to repeal a special deal that drug maker Amgen secured in the recent "fiscal cliff" deal.

The New York Times reported over the weekend that Amgen had secured a deal to delay Medicare price controls over one of its drugs. The deal does not mention Amgen by name, but applies to a class of drugs that includes a profitable dialysis drug that Amgen manufactures.

Amgen was the only company to lobby for the provision, the Times reported.

Welch proposed repealing the deal, which he said will cost Medicare almost $500 million over the course of the two-year delay.

"Without scrutiny or debate, the American taxpayer was stuck with the $500 million tab," Welch said in a statement. "This special interest provision should have stood on its own merits with an up or down vote. It’s no wonder cockroaches and root canals are more popular than Congress.”

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