Haggling With Pharma: Medicare Drug Price Negotiations Explained

Provisions that would empower Medicare to negotiate some drug prices under the budget reconciliation bill are being marketed by Democrats as a landmark change that would lower drug costs for Americans across the country.

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the provisions would save the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services roughly $102 billion over a decade. Some drug pricing analysts, however, question whether the bill (H.R. 5376) will actually reduce costs.

Not all high-expenditure drugs would be subject to negotiations, but certain cancer treatments and other top brand-name drugs used by seniors could have lower prices ...