Biden’s HHS Considers Eliminating Medicare Drug Pricing Model Reliant on International Benchmarks

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is considering doing away with a Medicare drug pricing model established during the Trump administration that sets US prices based on the cost of drugs in other countries. The Biden administration is considering other approaches to reducing drug costs without effects on access to drugs or innovation.

“The Trump administration’s rule matches Medicare reimbursement for drugs administered in doctors’ offices—which are usually expensive and often for serious illnesses like cancer—to lower prices paid in other countries. The rule was finalized in 2020, but it was blocked by federal judges and paused by President Joe Biden.” Read more here.

(Source: Ian Lopez, Bloomberg Law, 8/6/21)