Note: The Center for American Progress is represented in these matters by Hannah Brennan and Sophia Weaver of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP.
The Inflation Reduction Act made historic inroads into lowering Medicare prescription drug prices. This includes empowering the secretary of health and human services to directly negotiate drug prices on behalf of the Medicare program. Pharmaceutical companies across the industry—in an attempt to safeguard profits and retain the ability to set drug prices as high as the market will bear—are suing to block that authority.
On December 22, 2023, CAP, joined by the NAACP, filed an amicus brief in response to one such case, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services et al., to underscore how critical Medicare drug price negotiation is to improving beneficiary access and affordability for Medicare Part D drugs.
On January 19, 2024, CAP, joined by The Century Foundation and UnidosUS Action Fund, filed an amicus brief in response to a second case, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation v. Becerra et al.
On February 2, 2024, CAP, joined by the NAACP, The Century Foundation, and UnidosUS Action Fund, filed an amicus brief in response to a third case, Novo Nordisk Inc. et al. v. Becerra et al. In addition to addressing the benefits of Medicare drug price negotiation, this brief elevates the importance of Congress delegating the implementation of complex laws such as the Inflation Reduction Act to federal agencies—which have the expertise required to do so effectively.
Each brief emphasizes how significant the impacts of Medicare drug price negotiation will be for racial and ethnic minorities, women, older adults, the LGBTQI+ community, and disabled people, and emphasizes the centrality of lowering prescription drug costs to advancing health equity.
Click here to read the Boehringer Ingelheim amicus brief.
Click here to read the Novartis amicus brief.
Click here to read the Novo Nordisk amicus brief.