In a Law360 article co-authored by heath care partner Margaux Hall and health care associates Emma Coreno and Nick Curry, the authors examine how the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which was signed into law by President Joe Biden in mid-August, paves the way for major drug pricing reforms.
Most notably, the new law establishes a program empowering Medicare for the first time to directly negotiate prices with manufacturers for certain high-spend drugs, requires manufacturers to pay rebates to Medicare for drugs reimbursed under Parts B and D with price increases that exceed inflation, and revamps the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit to provide greater cost-sharing protections for beneficiaries and alter existing obligations for plans and manufacturers.
While it will be years before the IRA is fully implemented — and even longer before many of its effects are fully realized — the law is the most significant drug pricing legislation in recent memory and will have significant implications for the life sciences and health care sectors.
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