Medicare Penalizes Drug Makers for Inflation-Exceeding Price Hikes on 27 Drugs.

The US Department of Health and Human Services has released a list of 27 drugs whose Medicare Part B prices were raised faster than the rate of inflation, in violation of the Inflation Reduction Act. The drug companies will owe penalties, in the form of rebates paid to Medicare, that will be deposited in the Medicare Trust Fund, which helps pay for health services. Pfizer has five drugs listed, along with Seagen's Padcev, AbbVie's Humira, Roche's Mircera, and Gilead's Yescarta. The move is part of the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act, which focuses on reducing costs of common drugs and penalizing drug makers for artificially raising prices.