Senator Murray On Merck’s Lawsuit to Block Medicare from Being Able to Negotiate Lower Drug Prices

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), issued the following statement on a lawsuit filed by Merck & Co in federal court today seeking to overturn historic provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act that finally empowered Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug costs for seniors by bringing big pharmaceutical companies to the table for the first time ever.

“Americans everywhere overwhelmingly support giving Medicare the power to simply negotiate lower prescription drug prices, and last summer, Democrats got it done. But now, Merck is doing everything it can to protect its profits at the expense of patients who need their prescriptions to stay healthy and get treatment for everything from cancer to diabetes.

“While big drug companies may not want to be at the negotiating table, the American people are sick and tired of giant pharmaceutical corporations putting their executives’ paychecks above patients—and Democrats will keep fighting back to put patients over profits at every turn.”

The Inflation Reduction Act finally empowered Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug costs—something Senator Murray has fought to do for years—bringing down costs for patients and generating enormous savings for taxpayers. Later this year, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is set to announce the first set of drugs that will be subject to price negotiation in 2026.

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