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All 10 of the drug manufacturers chosen for Medicare price negotiations have agreed to participate, The Hill reports. 

What’s going on: In late August, the Department of Health and Human Services announced it had chosen the first 10 drugs to be subject to the prescription-cost negotiations required by last year’s Inflation Reduction Act.

• “Sunday was the deadline for the companies to decide whether they wanted to participate in the price negotiation program, and Monday was the deadline for them to submit manufacturer-specific information—such as research and development costs, as well as sales and revenue data—to the administration.”
• The medications include some commonly prescribed in the treatment of heart disease and diabetes.

Why it’s problematic: Though President Biden said in a social media post on Tuesday that negotiations will mean “we can give seniors the best possible deal” on prescriptions, drug-price controls jeopardize innovation and competitiveness—and the NAM has long opposed them.

• Drug manufacturers say “the negotiation process is unconstitutional and amounts to forced price fixing, which could lead to lower profits, less money invested in research and development and, consequently, fewer drugs on the market,” according to The Hill. “The companies said they agreed to participate essentially because they had no choice.”

​​​​​​​ The NAM says: “Price-control policies threaten future innovation and lifesaving cures,” said NAM Director of Domestic Policy Julia Bogue. “The years of research and billions of dollars necessary to develop new treatments for patients are put at risk by government intervention in the marketplace.”
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