Reuters
Published Oct 21, 2022 12:59PM ET
Updated Oct 21, 2022 05:56PM ET
By Bianca Flowers
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. government is holding talks with health insurers and drugmakers as it sets up the framework for direct negotiations of prescription drug prices for Medicare recipients, a top Biden administration official said on Friday.
President Joe Biden in August signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act, which among its provisions for the first time allows the federal Medicare health plan for people age 65 and older and the disabled to negotiate prices on some of the most expensive drugs.
"We're already beginning those conversations," U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said at a Reuters Events health conference in Chicago.
"We're in the process of figuring out what questions people need answered from us, whether it's health plans who are trying to figure out how are they going to incorporate what we're doing into the benefits for people, thinking about the companies and how are they going to submit the data," she said.
CMS needs to collect data so it can identify the first 10 drugs that will be subject to negotiations, a list that will expand to 20 by 2029.
It has started hiring for a new negotiation team this fall, Brooks-LaSure said, and will continue to do so over the coming months.
Government negotiation of drug prices represents a rare legislative defeat for the powerful pharmaceutical industry and sets a precedent for curbing rising prescription drug prices in the world's most lucrative market for medicine. Still, Brooks-LaSure said the talks were so far collaborative.
"The feeling that I get from the stakeholders that we are meeting with right now is a feeling of we may not agree on what the law asks us to do, but there is a desire for it to work well," she said.
Health officials are also talking to insurers and drugmakers about moving sales and distribution of COVID vaccines and treatments to the private sector, she added. The government expects its supplies to run out over the next year and is preparing for them to be sold via the commercial market.
"That is a conversation that we are engaged with, and meeting with payers, meeting with companies, and really trying to answer the questions that will come when we get out of the public health emergency."
Some experts have said they expect the official COVID-19 public health emergency designation will expire in January.
"I don't know when the public health emergency will end, exactly," Brooks-LaSure said. "But we know that we are in a different place than we were a couple of years ago."
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.