Biden administration officials asked executives from major drug and retail chains to counter stiff opposition from the pharmaceutical industry and help promote a law intended to lower drug costs.
US health officials met Tuesday at the White House with leaders of CVS Health Corp., Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and Walmart Inc., seeking help to tout the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act, a Health and Human Services Department spokesperson said. Along with capping insulin prices and expanding access to adult vaccines, the law will allow Medicare, the US health program for the elderly, to negotiate prices of costly drugs made by some of the biggest pharmaceutical companies.
Gearing up for the 2024 election, the administration plans to tout the act as a hallmark of President Joe Biden’s efforts to cut spending on medications. The drug-price provisions have prompted a backlash from US drugmakers: Merck & Co., Bristol Myers Squibb Co., Johnson & Johnson and the indus