CMS does not have to select biologics that are on the cusp of facing biosimilar competition for price controls. If the Trump White House is serious about its push to make medicines more affordable, it should ensure CMS officials exercise that authority—and never make this mistake again.
Officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services just undermined President Trump’s efforts to make prescription drugs more affordable.
Earlier this week, CMS announced the next 15 medicines that will face price caps under Medicare’s Drug Price “Negotiation” Program, a core component of the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law by President Biden in 2022.
The IRA legally obligates the Trump administration to select 15 medicines for price controls by February 1. But the law gives CMS officials leeway over which medicines to pick.
Unfortunately, those officials selected several brand-name “biologic” drugs that will soon face competition from cheaper, copycat biosimilars. In so doing, CMS essentially upended the market landscape for those biosimilars—and made it far less likely that their developers will earn a return on their investments.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.
CMS Officials Are Undermining Trump’s Push For Affordable Drugs
Sally C. Pipes
CMS does not have to select biologics that are on the cusp of facing biosimilar competition for price controls. If the Trump White House is serious about its push to make medicines more affordable, it should ensure CMS officials exercise that authority—and never make this mistake again.
Officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services just undermined President Trump’s efforts to make prescription drugs more affordable.
Earlier this week, CMS announced the next 15 medicines that will face price caps under Medicare’s Drug Price “Negotiation” Program, a core component of the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law by President Biden in 2022.
The IRA legally obligates the Trump administration to select 15 medicines for price controls by February 1. But the law gives CMS officials leeway over which medicines to pick.
Unfortunately, those officials selected several brand-name “biologic” drugs that will soon face competition from cheaper, copycat biosimilars. In so doing, CMS essentially upended the market landscape for those biosimilars—and made it far less likely that their developers will earn a return on their investments.
Read the entire op-ed here.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.