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Merck Files First IRA Suit, Signaling Industry Is Ready To Fight

 
• By Sue Sutter and Jessica Merrill

Coming less than three months before the statutory deadline for CMS to publish the initial list of drugs, Merck’s lawsuit calls US Medicare drug price negotiations ‘extortion’ in a complaint that could be the first of more legal pushback to follow.

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MERCK’S SUIT CALLS THE IRA A ‘VORTEX OF FORCED BELOW-MARKET SALES’ WITH ‘NO EVIDENT MEANS OF ESCAPE.’ • Source: Shutterstock

Merck & Co., Inc. has taken the first legal action to fight a new Medicare drug price negotiation program that is being implemented as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Changing certain elements of the program or delaying its implementation altogether would be victory for industry.

Key Takeaways

  • Merck’s lawsuit raises constitutional challenges to President Biden’s signature healthcare achievement.

Litigation has been considered one path industry might take in response to the passage of the landmark drug pricing law...

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• By Cathy Kelly

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Part B Negotiation Proposal Would Lower Prices In MA, Private Plans Too, Stakeholders Complain

 
• By Cathy Kelly

The issue is attracting more attention as the 2028 deadline for implementing Medicare negotiated prices for Part B drugs approaches.

More from Government Payers

Part B Negotiation Proposal Would Lower Prices In MA, Private Plans Too, Stakeholders Complain

 
• By Cathy Kelly

The issue is attracting more attention as the 2028 deadline for implementing Medicare negotiated prices for Part B drugs approaches.

China Unveils Multiple Policies To Support Innovative Drugs Throughout Life Cycle

 
• By Xu Hu

China has announced a raft of new measures to encourage innovative drug development across the product life cycle, including using insurance data to differentiate new therapies and applying commercial insurance to selected novel products.

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• By Tim Casey

Insurance trade groups warned that the Big Beautiful Bill destabilize Medicaid and result in the largest ever roll-back in health care coverage in the US.