drug prices

Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont Independent, questions Dr. Monica Bertagnolli during her confirmation hearing to become director of the National Institutes of Health.

Health & Safety

Sen. Sanders pushes NIH to rein in drug prices

5:12am November 17, 2023

by Sydney Lupkin

The National Institutes of Health has been reluctant to use its leverage as a biomedical research funder to influence drug pricing. Sen. Bernie Sanders is pressing NIH's new director to take action.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House event on August 29 where they announced the list of the first 10 medicines targeted for Medicare negotiations.

Health & Safety

All in: Drugmakers say yes, they'll negotiate with Medicare on price, so reluctantly

5:00am October 04, 2023

by Sydney Lupkin

Despite at least nine lawsuits against the government, all companies whose drugs are up for Medicare price negotiation will come to the bargaining table.

Medicare expects to save nearly $100 billion over the next several years by negotiating on drug prices for select drugs. But which drugs it will choose and how it will go are still open questions.

Health & Safety

What's a fair price for a prescription drug? Medicare's about to weigh in

5:01am July 28, 2023

Medicare soon will start something it hasn't done in its 58-year history: Negotiate on drug prices. On Sept. 1, Medicare will target the first 10 drugs for price negotiations.

Pharmacy benefit managers are middlemen who work with drug companies and insurers, helping set the retail prices for prescription drugs Americans rely on for their health. They're now the subject of a number of new bills in Congress.

What to know about the drug price fight in those TV ads

1:20pm July 07, 2023

by Arthur Allen

At least nine bills introduced in Congress take aim at pharmacy benefit managers, the powerful middlemen that channel prescription drugs to patients. Here's what the fuss is all about.

This April 24, 2008, file photo shows the former North American headquarters of Novo Nordisk Inc., in Plainsboro, N.J. The Danish drugmaker will start slashing some U.S. insulin prices up to 75% next year, following a path set earlier this month by rival Eli Lilly.

Health & Safety

Novo Nordisk will cut some U.S. insulin prices by up to 75% starting next year

12:15pm March 14, 2023

by The Associated Press

The Danish drugmaker's move follows a similar announcement by rival Eli Lilly earlier this month. More than 8 million Americans use insulin, according to the American Diabetes Association.

President Biden speaks to the International Association of Fire Fighters at a conference in Washington on March 6, 2023.

Biden says his budget plan would extend Medicare to 2050 without adding to the deficit

12:02pm March 07, 2023

by Deepa Shivaram

President Biden is proposing to raise taxes on people who make more than $400,000 per year to make sure there's enough money for Medicare.

President Biden speaks during an event Tuesday celebrating the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act on the South Lawn of the White House. The new law gives Medicare the power to negotiate drug prices.

Legal fights and loopholes could blunt Medicare's new power to control drug prices

1:48pm September 15, 2022

The Inflation Reduction Act gives Medicare historic new powers to limit prescription drug prices. But the pharmaceutical industry is already lobbying to dull their impact.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke about the bill to cap insulin prices during her weekly press conference on Capitol Hill on Thursday.

House passes bill to cap insulin prices

5:57pm March 31, 2022

by Barbara Sprunt

The chamber voted on a bill that caps the price of insulin at $35 a month but fate for the legislation in the Senate is unclear.

Canadian Minister of Health Patty Hajdu, pictured in 2016, announced a new rule in response to a U.S. plan to import drugs from Canada.

Canada Blocks Export Of Medications In Short Supply In Response To Trump Plan

8:06pm November 29, 2020

by Matthew S. Schwartz

The move comes just days before a U.S. rule was set to go into effect allowing for bulk importation of drugs from Canada. Trump promised it would lower costs and be a "game changer" for seniors.

Remdesivir, an experimental antiviral drug made by Gilead Sciences, has been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use in treating severely ill COVID-19 patients.

Health & Safety

Putting A Price On COVID-19 Treatment Remdesivir

11:01am May 08, 2020

by Sydney Lupkin

Gilead Sciences has committed to donating the initial supply of the experimental antiviral drug. But executives said the company will need to make expanded production of the treatment sustainable.