All drugmakers send in counteroffers in Medicare price negotiations

All of the manufacturers whose drugs were chosen for the federal government’s Medicare price negotiation program have sent back counteroffers for what they consider to be a maximum fair price, the White House said Monday.

President Biden confirmed in a statement Monday that all companies are continuing to engage in the negotiation process, despite the host of legal battles to block the program.

On Feb. 1, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) sent out initial offers of a maximum fair price for the first 10 drugs chosen for Medicare negotiations. These include medications of Eliquis, Jardiance, Xarelto, Januvia and Farxiga. Drugmakers had until March 2 to send back counteroffers.

“Today, my Administration is announcing that manufacturers for all ten selected drugs will continue to participate in drug price negotiations, as all manufacturers have submitted counteroffers,” Biden said Monday. “This is an important milestone in our fight to give seniors the best possible deal on their prescription drugs and in lowering health care costs for all families.”

“And it comes in the face of attacks from Big Pharma in the courts and from Republicans in Congress who continue to try to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act which would keep seniors on Medicare from benefitting from these lower cost drugs,” he added.

Biden indicated he would have more to say on this issue in his State of the Union address Thursday.

Talks are expected to go through Aug. 1, when negotiations officially end, per CMS guidance. The maximum fair prices are scheduled to be published Sept. 1 and are set to go into effect at the start of 2026.

The pharmaceutical industry is engaged in a legal battle with the federal government to block the Medicare negotiation; drugmakers and trade groups have filed numerous lawsuits alleging the program violates federal law and is unconstitutional.

Since the start of the year, two of those lawsuits have gone in favor of the federal government, with one suit filed by the trade group PhRMA being dismissed last month and a federal judge issuing summary judgment last week in favor of Medicare negotiation in a case brought by AstraZeneca.