White House signals no pause on Medicare drug price negotiations after Merck lawsuit

By Eleanor Laise

Administration officials highlight Inflation Reduction Act prescription-drug savings as negotiation process moves forward

The Biden administration on Thursday indicated no pause in its timeline for Medicare drug price negotiations in the wake of a legal challenge from pharmaceutical giant Merck (MRK).

"We are confident we will succeed in the courts," Cristen Linke Young, deputy assistant to the president for health and veterans affairs, said on a call with reporters Thursday, referring to the lawsuit Merck filed Tuesday against the federal government alleging that the Medicare drug price negotiation program established under last year's Inflation Reduction Act violates the First and Fifth Amendments. "There is nothing in the Constitution that prevents Medicare from negotiating lower drug prices," Young said on the call.

Asked if the lawsuit might impact the negotiation process, a senior administration official said on the call Thursday, "the President took on big pharma in the legislative process and won, and we're going to continue to keep fighting to lower Americans' healthcare costs." The official added, "I would note that the plaintiffs have not sought a preliminary injunction in this case," a step that could preserve the status quo while courts decide on the merits of the case.

Merck's lawsuit is seen by some policy experts as an attempt to force a pause on the developing negotiation process. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is set to release updated guidance on the negotiation process later this summer and in September will publish a list of the first 10 drugs selected for negotiation.

Administration officials on the call Thursday also emphasized Medicare drug savings from parts of the Inflation Reduction Act that have already taken effect. The new law requires drug companies to pay rebates to Medicare when drug prices rise faster than inflation. The Department of Health and Human Services on Friday announced a list of 43 prescription drugs subject to those rebates for which Medicare Part B beneficiaries' coinsurance may be lower starting July 1. People taking those drugs may save between $1 and $449 per average dose in the third quarter of this year, depending on their individual coverage, HHS said.

-Eleanor Laise

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06-09-23 0839ET

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