Drug Price Deal Hailed by Employers as Key Step to Slash Costs

Employers view the drug pricing deal agreed to by congressional Democrats as an important “foot in the door” even though they won’t benefit from a provision allowing Medicare to negotiate some of the highest-priced drugs.

The agreement reached this week allowing the government to negotiate prices on a small number of expensive drugs is “an important first step,” in making drug prices affordable for workers and their employers, Bill Kramer, executive director for health policy with the Purchaser Business Group on Health (PBGH), said in an interview. “We’ve broken through the fortress wall that pharma has erected over decades, and ...