Snyder: Update on How Inflation Reduction Act Affects Settlement

Wednesday, September 13, 2023 | 0

Will the Inflation Reduction Act affect your settlement? A prior post discussed that possibility. A year later, there are developments.

Teddy Snyder

The first drug designation

The Department of Health and Human Services has named the first 10 drugs to be subject to negotiation. The chosen drugs represent about 20% of total Part D annual spending, $50.5 billion. 

The drugs are principally used for cardiac disease and diabetes as well as the autoimmune diseases psoriasis and Crohn’s disease. These are not conditions caused by run-of-the-mill tort or workers' compensation cases. They might occur as a result of medical or pharmaceutical malpractice, but that is not something practitioners are likely to see frequently.

Big Pharma litigation

Predictably, passage of the Inflation Reduction Act provoked a rash of lawsuits from drug manufacturers challenging the law. Among others, plaintiffs Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, Merck and Janssen Pharmaceuticals have complained that the law unconstitutionally forces manufacturers to sell their products at below-market prices.

Briefing is ongoing, and appeals are sure to follow.

The conclusion for the claims community

There was a lot of hoopla when this law passed about how it would finally tame the high cost of pharmaceutical drugs. However, the evaluation of cases with significant ongoing drug expense appears to be unaffected, at least for now.

Attorney Teddy Snyder mediates workers' compensation cases throughout California. She can be contacted through snydermediations.com.