Drugmakers, Medicare Conclude Talks to Slash Spiraling Costs

Healthcare attorney Melissa Wong was quoted in a Bloomberg Law article about the first round of negotiations between the Biden Administration and the healthcare industry to lower prices for 10 prescription drugs under the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program. The program, a key part of the administration's Inflation Reduction Act, allows the government to establish prices for certain drugs covered by Medicare. Its goals are to curb government spending while lowering healthcare costs for Medicare beneficiaries. Despite legal challenges from the pharmaceutical industry, discussions have progressed, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is set to publish the maximum fair prices by Sept. 1, 2024, with the new prices scheduled to take effect in January 2026. As plans for the second round of negotiations get underway, Ms. Wong commented on some of the uncertainty regarding how the presidential election results could affect the program. She said a new administration likely won't hinder the process and instead pointed to other factors to watch.

"The biggest levers of uncertainty here remain pending litigation and all the little details that CMS will continue to roll out in regulatory guidance," she said.

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