Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging Drug Price Negotiations

Joe Biden has been trying to make a dent in drug pricing regarding a new policy for Medicare.

The Biden administration notched a small win after a case challenging that ability was tossed.

On Monday, Judge David Alan Ezra, a Reagan appointee, threw out the case challenging Medicare’s negotiation powers that was brought by the pharma industry.

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The challenge was brought by the pharma lobbying group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).

The problem for Biden is that this is one of nine cases that has been levied against the administration on this front.

The initial offer for pricing was sent out by the administration at the beginning of February, but pricing will not be locked in until the negotiation ends in August.

Even then, those negotiated prices will not take effect until 2026.

After the ruling was announced, PhRMA spokesperson Nicole Longo stated, “We are disappointed with the court’s decision, which does not address the merits of our lawsuit, and we are weighing our next legal steps.”

The challenge here is that the case was not dismissed with prejudice, so another suit could be filed if they chose to go that route.

PhRMA has some of the biggest drug companies in the world on its roster, so I doubt this is the end of this issue in terms of PhRMA bringing suits.

The group has already stated that it believes these negotiations are unconstitutional and violate due process.

Drug prices were something that Donald Trump also tried to address when he was in office, but Democrats blocked him on this front.

Trump issued an executive order very late in his administration to address the issue, but he was then criticized by liberal groups for doing it so late in his term, insinuating it was an election stunt to help him with voters.