Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Medicare Pricing Talks On 10 Drugs Kick Off With CMS Opening Offers
The Biden administration announced on Thursday that it was sending initial offers to the makers of the first 10 prescription drugs that have been selected for price negotiations with Medicare under a landmark federal program intended to reduce drug spending. The medicines selected for negotiations are taken by millions of Americans to treat conditions like diabetes, cancer and heart disease. The administration identified them in August, beginning a lengthy process intended to result in an agreed-upon price that would take effect in 2026, assuming the negotiation program survives legal challenges. (Weiland, 2/1)
The drugs include Eliquis, Jardiance, Xarelto, Januvia, Farxiga, Entresto, Enbrel, Imbruvica, Stelara and the insulins Fiasp and NovoLog. Biden administration officials said the initial offers will start a back-and-forth with drug manufacturers over the spring and summer months. Final prices for the first batch of drugs will be made public Sept. 1, and the negotiated prices will take effect in January 2026.(Alltucker, 2/1)
The offers will not be made public unless a manufacturer chooses to publicly disclose information about the talks, a senior administration official said. Companies have until March 2 to either accept the government’s offer or propose a counteroffer. The Biden administration will publish the final prices by Sept. 1 of this year after the negotiation process ends. (Cohrs, 2/1)
Wednesday was the first time that a federal judge asked questions in-person of drug industry lawyers who are trying to stop Medicare from negotiating drug prices. It didn’t go well for them. (Wilkerson, 1/31)
In related news —
Dozens of drug makers have lost their bid to keep a group of price-fixing lawsuits joined together in Pennsylvania federal court, after a court panel on Wednesday said Connecticut and other state plaintiffs could press their own cases separately. The federal Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation granted a request from Connecticut and 45 other states to litigate their antitrust lawsuits in Connecticut federal court, where they were first filed in 2016. (Scarcella, 1/31)
Fewer than 1 in 5 adults (17%) say they know how much health care products or services will cost in advance, according to new Gallup polling with Bentley University. (Millman, 1/31)
