As President Trump touts his own executive orders to lower drug prices, the Medicare drug price negotiations begun during the Biden administration are continuing behind the scenes.
Two companies – Novo Nordisk and Amgen – confirmed to NPR that they had received opening price offers from the government, kicking off bargaining that could last through October. The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to a request for comment on the status of negotiations.
Medicare is negotiating the prices of 15 drugs, including Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic. The government has until Nov. 30 to announce the agreed-upon Medicare prices. The lower prices would go into effect in January 2027.
“It’s a train that’s sort of moving along the tracks in the background,” says Ben Rome, a physician and health policy researcher at Harvard Medical School. “And it seems like the Trump administration has given the green light to kind of continue that process.”
Medicare drug price negotiation is still relatively new. Until the 2022 passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, Medicare part D, which covers more than 50 million seniors, didn’t have the authority to negotiate drug prices. This is the second round of annual bargaining.
Source: Npr.org
