PhRMA sues Trump administration over Medicare drug pricing rule

The pharmaceutical industry’s primary lobby group has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to invalidate the Trump administration’s efforts to lower Medicare drug prices. The lawsuit targets Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

The legal challenge focuses on the ‘GLOBE rule,’ which seeks to implement a ‘most-favored-nation’ pricing system. This system would benchmark hospital drug prices for Medicare Part B patients against prices paid in comparable countries. PhRMA argues that CMS is overstepping its authority by attempting to rewrite Medicare’s pricing structure through a model-testing program, a move they claim requires congressional action.

While the rule may have a limited initial reach—as CMS plans to waive requirements for manufacturers that sign voluntary price-cut deals with the White House—the lobby group contends the lawsuit is necessary to prevent the mechanism from being used by future administrations.