DC Circuit Weighs ‘Who Decides’ Drug Rebates in Discount Program

A three-judge panel scrutinized Monday whether it’s US health officials or drugmakers who can decide to implement rebates in a federal drug price program that has historically required up-front discounts to providers that treat lower-income and uninsured patients.

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit heard arguments on whether the US Department of Health and Human Services, under the Biden administration, had the legal authority to reject proposals from Johnson & Johnson, Novartis AG, Eli Lilly & Co., and Bristol Myers Squibb Co. to discount medicines through rebates rather than up front under ...