Drugmakers Are ‘Throwing the Kitchen Sink’ to Halt Medicare Price Negotiations

Original Article:

Source: Link

The legal push comes just weeks before the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is scheduled to publish a long-awaited list of the first 10 drugs that will be subject to negotiations. The list is due out by Sept. 1; the makers of the selected drugs have until Oct. 1 to declare whether they will participate in negotiations — or face steep financial penalties for not doing so. The lower prices will not take effect until 2026. Earlier this month, the chamber asked a federal judge in Ohio to issue an injunction that would block any negotiations while its case is being heard. Lawrence O. Gostin, an expert in public health law at Georgetown University, said the Supreme Court might be sympathetic to some of the industry’s arguments. In particular, he pointed to a claim by drugmakers that by requiring them to negotiate or pay a fine, the law violates the Fifth Amendment’s prohibition on the taking of private property for public use without just compensation. “The Supreme Court is openly hostile to any perceived violation of the Fifth Amendment,” Mr. Gostin said, adding, “It would not surprise me at all to see these cases go up to the Supreme Court and have them strike it down.” For Mr. Biden and his fellow Democrats, that would be a painful blow. The president and Democrats have long campaigned on reducing drug prices and plan to make it a central theme of their 2024 campaigns. The White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said in a statement that Mr. Biden was confident the administration would win in court.