Medicare on Friday said it will allow pharmaceutical companies to publicly discuss the program's historic drug price negotiations, dropping a confidentiality requirement that the industry argued violated the First Amendment in lawsuits filed this month.
It also required companies to destroy any information within 30 days if the drug is no longer selected for negotiations.
The Inflation Reduction Act, passed last year, empowered Medicare to directly negotiate with pharmaceutical companies over prices for the first time.
"Pharmaceutical companies have made record profits for decades," Becerra said in a statement.
"Now they're lining up to block this Administration's work to negotiate for better drug prices for our families.
Persons:
Kathy Hochuls, Biden, Bristol Myers Squibb, Xavier Becerra, Becerra
Organizations:
Medicare, U.S . Merck, U.S . Chamber of Commerce, Bristol Myers Squibb, Pharmaceutical Research, Manufacturers, America, Merck, Bristol, U.S . Constitution, Health, Human Services, Pharmaceutical
Locations:
U.S, U.S .