Closer Look at Trump’s Medicare Drug Price Change Raises Doubts

Some researchers and health policy wonks are skeptical the Trump administration’s latest push for drug price negotiation in certain Medicare plans will lead to long-term savings.

Private insurance companies that provide coverage through Medicare Advantage Part B plans will be able to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices next year. The main crux of the negotiations is plans following certain steps before allowing a patient to be prescribed an expensive drug. Typically, the patient has to try the cheapest version available before moving on to an expensive counterpart, which means cheaper drugs get priority over expensive ones.

That setup ...