The costs of prescription drugs and working to lower them will be among the top health issues facing the Biden administration in 2024, with Supreme Court activity, drugmaker lawsuits, and other hurdles expected to complicate the course.
The Health and Human Services Department has spent the better part of the past year proposing regulations and issuing guidance around hot-button health issues like rising drug costs, reproductive rights, and discrimination.
The agency is heading into 2024 with a handful of proposed rules awaiting finalization and guidance for implementing a landmark program allowing the government to negotiate what Medicare pays for high-cost drugs that are under attack from the pharmaceutical industry.
One of its primary efforts will be to continue defending Medicare drug price negotiations in lawsuits brought by AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, and others.
