https://www.axios.com/2024/02/07/trump-medicare-price-negotiations-executive-power

If Donald Trump returns to the White House, the self-proclaimed master negotiator could get his shot at brokering Medicare prices for drugs.

Why it matters: Trump first ran for president bucking conservative orthodoxy by vowing to negotiate drug prices, though he later abandoned that pledge.

>But the Democrats' drug pricing law would require the GOP frontrunner to negotiate Medicare prices for some drugs if he wins a second term, and former Trump health officials expect he would use executive power to soften the government's approach.

Catch up quick: The Biden administration last week kicked off negotiations over the first set of 10 high-cost drugs, a milestone for Democrats who long supported leveraging the government's purchasing power to rein in drug prices.

>President Biden is campaigning on his drug pricing victories, drawing a contrast with Republicans who have widely panned negotiations and other measures they argue will hurt drug development.
>Though Trump remains critical of the pharmaceutical industry, he hasn't made drug pricing a focus of his campaign the same way he did in 2016 or 2020.

Future administrations won't have much flexibility to dismantle or ignore Medicare drug price negotiations without a change from Congress.

>The Inflation Reduction Act sets out how many drugs Medicare must negotiate, what factors it should consider, and the types of drugs up for negotiations.
>But Medicare has discretion in how it determines the negotiated price — and that's where Trump or another Republican administration would have leeway to dial back negotiating powers.