WASHINGTON D.C. — Patients For Affordable Drugs filed a 29-page amicus brief today in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, defending Medicare’s authority to negotiate lower drug prices in a case filed by Novo Nordisk, (one of the Big Three insulin manufacturers), challenging the program. This case is part of a coordinated effort by Big Pharma and its allies to overturn the historic program and maintain control over skyrocketing drug prices.
The amicus brief highlights the transformative benefits of the Medicare Negotiation Program, counters Big Pharma’s misinformation about access to and innovation of essential medicines, and exposes the corrupt origins of the 2003 “non-interference” clause, which was inserted at the behest of pharmaceutical lobbyists to block Medicare from negotiating drug prices. Unlike other sectors of healthcare, where Medicare can negotiate prices, Big Pharma has been exempted from this process. By overturning this pro-pharma loophole, the law will deliver relief to patients, weaken Big Pharma’s monopoly power, and ensure billions in savings for Americans.
You can find the full written amicus brief HERE.
“For too long, patients have suffered while big drug companies treated Medicare Part D as a government handout rigged for their benefit,” said Merith Basey, Executive Director of Patients For Affordable Drugs. “The Inflation Reduction Act begins the critical process of reforming a cruel and broken system by finally putting patients first. Our amicus brief exposes Big Pharma’s baseless legal claims already spurned by other courts and demonstrates how Medicare negotiation is a win for patients and American taxpayers. By spotlighting the lived experiences of patients forced to pay exorbitantly high drug prices and the relief coming from lower negotiated drug prices, we are ensuring the court hears directly from those whose lives and well-being hang in the balance. We will continue to fight tirelessly—inside and outside the courtrooms—to defend this historic law against the pharmaceutical industry’s assaults and protect the will of the American people.”
“I have lived with Type 1 Diabetes for over 50 years and have heard too many stories from other people with diabetes who have suffered incredible health complications due to the cost of insulin,” said Bob Parant, a patient advocate featured in P4AD’s amicus brief. “I understand that drug companies should be allowed to make profits, but it is outrageous that prices are so high that sick people are forced to ration the medicine they need to survive.”
P4AD’s brief underscores how Medicare price negotiation will deliver transformative savings to additional patients including:
- Aly Elbaga, an 84-year-old retiree from New Jersey whose prescription drug costs, including for Eliquis, account for nearly half his monthly income. Instead of enjoying his well-earned retirement, Aly cannot afford vacations or other leisure activities, and he struggles even to purchase new clothing, shoes, or other necessities. Beginning in 2026, the price of Eliquis will be reduced by 56 percent.
- Lynn Scarfuto, a retired nurse in Herkimer, New York has had to rely on grants to assist with her out-of-pocket costs for Imbruvica, or risk not being able to afford housing because of the crippling cost of her prescription drugs. In 2026, Imbruvica’s price will be reduced by 38 percent.
The brief also highlights the broader economic impact of the Medicare negotiation program:
- $100 billion: Savings specifically from Medicare negotiation through 2031.
- $6 billion: Estimated Medicare savings if lower negotiated prices had been in effect in 2023.
- $1.5 billion annually: Estimated out-of-pocket savings for people on Medicare Part D enrollees starting in 2026.
- 656,967 fewer deaths: Projected over seven years due to improved treatment adherence, with nearly 94,000 lives saved annually from reduced out-of-pocket costs from Medicare negotiation.
- $237 billion: Projected total savings from the Inflation Reduction Act through 2031.
BACKGROUND
- Despite the $372 million lobbying campaign by the pharmaceutical industry and its allies to stop the Inflation Reduction Act, the reforms are already reining in prescription drug costs for millions of patients.
- To date, federal judges have rejected eight lawsuits filed by the pharmaceutical industry and its allies to block implementation of Medicare negotiation.
- P4AD previously filed an amicus brief in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in cases brought by pharmaceutical giants Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), Janssen, and AstraZeneca.
- P4AD has also signed onto seven amicus briefs led by Public Citizen and with allies Protect Our Care, Doctors for America, and Families USA.
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