According to a recent Reuters article, AARP is urging a federal judge not to block a new law that empowers Medicare to negotiate drug prices with pharma companies. The call comes in response to a lawsuit filed by business groups seeking to halt negotiations. AARP argues that stopping the drug price negotiation program would hinder Congress' goal of lowering drug prices and harm older Americans, emphasizing that Medicare recipients have an average income of less than $30,000 per year.
The Chamber of Commerce filed the lawsuit in June, contending that the drug pricing program, established through Presiden Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, violates drugmakers' due process rights by granting the government "unfettered discretion" to set maximum prices. The program also faces legal challenges from drugmakers like Merck & Co and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.
