Congress is about to act on drug price reform. Here's what you need to know

Demonstrators outside PhRMA headquarters in Washington, D.C., protest lobbying by pharmaceutical companies to keep Medicare from negotiating lower prescription drug prices. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Americans pay way more than people in other countries do for prescription drugs. This drives voters crazy, and although lawmakers have been vowing to do something about it for decades, they haven't made much progress.

That could change as soon as this week. The Inflation Reduction Act – hashed out by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.V. – includes several provisions around drug prices and health insurance. The Senate is planning to start the voting process Saturday, and it appears on track to get through Congress and be signed into law by President Biden.