AARP weighs in on Merck case challenging Medicare drug negotiation
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AARP has submitted an amicus curiae brief with a federal court in Washington, DC, in a case filed by Merck (NYSE:MRK) that is challenging Medicare's ability to negotiate prescription drug prices.
The organization is arguing that seniors would be harmed if the negotiations are struck down given the high cost of many drugs.
In its brief, AARP noted that in 2022, ~9M Part D beneficiaries took at least one of those drugs and paid more than $3.4B in out-of-pocket cost just for the 10 drugs on the list. In addition, beneficiaries without financial help had average OOP costs as high as ~6.5K for these medications.
In late August, CMS unveiled the first 10 drugs that would be subject to negotiated prices starting in 2026.
Drugs on that list include: Eliquis, a blood thinner marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) and Pfizer (PFE); Jardiance, a diabetes therapy developed by Eli Lilly (LLY); and Imbruvica, a blood cancer therapy marketed by AbbVie (ABBV) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). Other targeted drugs include Merck's (MRK) diabetes med Januvia; AstraZeneca's (AZN) diabetes therapy Farxiga, Novartis' (NVS) cardiovascular drug Entresto, and JNJ's (JNJ) blood thinner Xarelto and arthritis therapy Stelara.
Merck (MRK) initially filed its lawsuit in June but followed up with a motion for summary judgment in July. The drugmaker has argued that the negotiations violate the First and Fifth Amendments.

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