J&J sues Biden to halt Medicare drug price talks.
The major drugmaker has joined others in the industry to challenge the Medicare drug-price negotiations established by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). They filed a claim in the U.S. District Court in Trenton, New Jersey.
The IRA, passed in 2022, allows Medicare to negotiate drug prices for the first time in its history. The aim is to make medications more affordable for older Americans, but it may impact pharmaceutical industry profits.
Johnson & Johnson states that they aim to stop what they consider ”innovation-damaging congressional overreach” that threatens the U.S.’s position in developing transformative therapies and patients’ access to those treatments.
Medicare Can Force Drug Companies to Lower Prices on Some Products
The Biden administration aims to save $25 billion annually by 2031 by allowing Medicare to negotiate prices for certain expensive medications used by those who are 65 and older.
Americans currently pay more for prescription medicines than citizens of any other country.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), under the Health and Human Services (HHS), will select the first 10 high-cost drugs covered by Medicare for negotiations with manufacturers in early September.
Discussions will begin in February 2024, and the maximum negotiated prices will be announced in September 2024.
The companies producing those 10 expensive drugs have until October to sign agreements to participate in the negotiations.
The new prices are set to take effect in 2026, but the lawsuit may cause delays.
A spokesperson for HHS stated, “We will vigorously defend the president’s drug price negotiation law, which is already helping to lower healthcare costs for seniors and people with disabilities. The law is on our side.”
J&J Joins Other Big Pharma Giants in Stopping New Provision
Bristol Myers Squibb and Merck & Co., along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, have already filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration over the plan.
The Chamber of Commerce has also sought an injunction to halt the implementation of the drug-price regulations.
J&J’s court filing increases the likelihood of conflicting legal rulings, which could lead the U.S. Supreme Court to review the matter.
The pharmaceutical giant argues that the Medicare negotiations violate the First and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
The lawsuit claims that forcing the company to make statements it believes are false and misleading, including stating that prices set under the program are fair, is unconstitutional.
The Epoch Times reached out to Johnson & Johnson for comment.
J&J Argues That Constitutional Rights Are Being Violated by New Law
“The government is forcing Janssen to provide its innovative, patented medicines on pricing terms that, by law, must be significantly below market prices,” the company said.
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