Pharma Decries Drug Selection Plans in Medicare Pricing Policy

Medicare’s plans to finalize its process for selecting drugs eligible for government price negotiations without public input opens up another potential avenue for lawsuits from the pharmaceutical industry, attorneys say.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services gave the public until April 14 to submit comments on initial guidance detailing how it plans to implement the Inflation Reduction Act for the drugs selected for negotiation starting in 2026.

Unlike with most parts of the guidance, the CMS said it wouldn’t accept comments on how it will select potential drugs eligible for negotiation. This is to help the CMS “be able ...