Drug Pricing Deal Disrupts Development of New Cures

With news that Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) would not come to an agreement on tax and climate provisions of the Build Back Better Act, the focus of the package now shifts to the healthcare related parts of the deal. The most prominent portion of the agreement is one that would allow Medicare to negotiate with drug makers to lower the price of prescription drugs for beneficiaries of the program. This is aimed at lowering costs for the nearly 83 percent of Americans who find affording prescription medication difficult.