Medicare will soon start paying for some pricey cancer and autoimmune drugs based on what other wealthy nations pay — though for far fewer drugs than first planned. As The Wall Street Journal’s Liz Essley Whyte and Lizzy Lawrence report, the Trump administration finalized its “Globe” program, setting a Jan. 1 launch despite drugmakers’ objections.
Run by Medicare’s Innovation Center, the five-year pilot benchmarks prices against 19 countries with similar economies. It covers some Medicare Part B drugs — expensive treatments administered by doctors or hospitals, such as Takeda’s Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis drug Entyvio — and could expand nationwide if it saves money without sacrificing quality.
“Medicare Part B patients and American taxpayers have paid significantly more for prescription medications than people in comparable countries,” said Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Still, the final rule is a shadow of the version proposed in December. Rare disease drugs are exempt, as are products from the more than 20 companies that have cut pricing deals with the White House and join a separate Medicaid experiment. Just four manufacturers remain covered, and projected savings have shrunk from $11.9 billion to $440 million over seven years.
That trade-off may favor companies whose drugs skew toward older patients, said Dr. Thomas Hwang, director of the Cancer Innovation and Regulation Initiative at Harvard Medical School. “Companies gave a little where it costs them least, to avoid giving a lot where it costs them most,” he said.
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The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America nonetheless blasted the policy, with spokesman Chanse Jones saying it “exceeds agency authority.” Drugmakers have called Globe “illegal,” and a lawsuit looks likely — courts blocked a similar foreign-pricing effort late in Trump’s first term.
Consumer advocates aren’t sold either. Peter Maybarduk, Public Citizen’s Access to Medicines director, predicted the administration “is likely to end up wasting more taxpayer money fighting the likely lawsuits on this model than it saves for patients.”
