Divergent views on what split Congress means for drug prices

Much like US politics as a whole, opinions are divided about what the midterm results mean for prescription drug prices.

The two parties are uncharacteristically united in their view that action needs to be taken to bring down medicine prices, a fact alluded to by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also saying that he “can’t imagine that will not be in the agenda,” as they spoke following the election results.

But pharma stocks finished the day more than 1% up on Wednesday, judging by the SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals measure. A likely reason for this is that many analysts believe that the parties will not be able to agree on any major legislation that might bring drug prices crashing down.