President Donald Trump's administration wants CMS to use its vast buying power to force pharmaceutical companies to lower their drug prices, NPR reports.
Here's what you should know.
1. After varying opinions from President Trump concerning drug prices, White House spokesperson Sean Spicer clarified the administration's position, saying President Trump is in favor of having Medicare negotiate lower prices for prescription medicine.
2. Mr. Spicier added that the United States should mirror other countries and use the government's purchasing power to lower pharmaceutical costs. U.S. law prohibits CMS from engaging in such a practice, currently.
3. A 2007 Congressional Budget Office study said Medicare would have a "negligible effect" on pharmaceutical prices. That study is the only research the federal government conducted on the issue.
4. Walid Gellad, MD, director of the Center for Pharmaceutical Policy and Prescribing at University of Pittsburgh, said the report didn't take into account the government refusing to pay for high-priced medicines.
Dr. Gellad said if the government was only going to pay for one of the two major Hepatitis C medicine's currently on the market, he believes major pharmaceuticals companies would slash their prices to win government contracts.
5. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs can negotiate such an arrangement because private insurance handles its pharmaceutical purchasing. The arrangement encourages competition between pharmaceutical companies.