ANALYSIS: Drug Pricing Lawsuits Jeopardize Medicare Pay Scheme

Court challenges by drugmakers and other parties seeking to negate the drug negotiation provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act threaten the ability of the law’s other provisions to work to lower drug prices.

The scheme has five main parts: Medicare price negotiation, a rebate requirement for prices that go up faster than inflation, lowering of the out-of-pocket cap to $2,000, stabilization of premium increases at 6%, and elimination of the Medicare Part D coverage gap.

The provisions were designed to work in unison. So if one part is severed, the larger scheme can’t work as intended to reduce drug costs. ...