Supreme Court rejects appeals from drug manufacturers over Medicare
price negotiations
[May 19, 2026]
By MARK SHERMAN and ALI SWENSON
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected appeals from
pharmaceutical companies that object to negotiating Medicare drug prices
with the federal government.
The justices did not comment in leaving in place rulings from the
federal appeals court in Philadelphia that dismissed the drug
manufacturers' claims.
The negotiation program was created as part of the 2022 Inflation
Reduction Act, which capped years of debate over whether the federal
government should be allowed to haggle directly with pharmaceutical
companies over the prices of drugs in Medicare.
The law required the government to negotiate prices for certain
high-cost drugs in the federal insurance program for older adults on an
annual basis, with the first deals going into effect in 2026.
Not a single Republican voted for the legislation, which was signed by
Democratic President Joe Biden. Republicans have been harshly critical
of aspects of the law, and Republican President Donald Trump has rolled
back programs favoring alternative energy sources.
But the administration has embraced the authority to bring drugmakers to
the negotiating table.
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 So far, the government has
negotiated prices for 25 prescription drugs covered by Medicare,
including the massively popular GLP-1 weight-loss and diabetes
drugs, Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy. In January, the Trump
administration announced drugs targeted for a third round of the
program, which would bring the total number of drugs with lower
prices for Medicare enrollees to 40.
Pharmaceutical companies have forcefully pushed
back on the program, arguing policymakers wanting to lower costs
should instead rein in insurers and third-party pharmacy benefit
managers.
But in the absence of court intervention, stopping the program may
require an act of Congress. The statute creating the program doesn’t
specify an end date.
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Swenson reported from New York.
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