Medicare releases first list of medications to negotiate
September 03, 2023
The Inflation Reduction Act allows the federal government to negotiate prices that Medicare pays, and the current administration has released its list of first ten targets. Up until the Inflation Reduction Act, Medicare was prohibited from negotiating drug prices. KFF Health News published an informative piece about this milestone. Negotiated prices are slated to take effect in 2026.
Understandably, pharmaceutical companies (or associations on their behalf) have filed lawsuits to stop the legislation from taking effect. The legislation requires that manufacturers not only negotiate, but also furnish data relevant to the negotiation. The extent to which manufacturers can refuse a price that Medicare asks for seems unclear. If a manufacturer is able to refuse a price, it will be interesting to see if Medicare will end up caving to public pressure for the coverage of specific medications.