Medicare drug costs

Democrats agreed to a significant — but slimmed down — proposal to help lower prescription drug prices, bringing aboard notable holdouts on the measure, including Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.

The agency plans to reduce the incentive for doctors to use the most expensive drugs and link prices to patient outcomes, perhaps paying less when patients have to be admitted to a hospital.

With time running out on open enrollment season, many seniors are facing sharply higher premiums for Medicare's popular prescription drug program. The…