HHS Proposes Nixing Trump Rule Tying Drug Costs to Foreign Rates

The Health and Human Services Department on Friday proposed to withdraw a Trump-era drug payment model tying U.S. costs to foreign prices.

The agency didn’t rule out releasing its own policy for cutting down skyrocketing medicine costs.

The proposal to withdraw the interim final rule (RIN 0938-AT91) “does not reflect any judgment by HHS regarding future policy,” the HHS said in a Federal Register release.

The Trump administration’s rule matches Medicare reimbursement for drugs administered in doctors’ offices—which are usually expensive and often for serious illnesses like cancer—to lower prices paid in other countries. The rule was finalized in 2020, ...