HHS Nominee Azar Signals New Line of Attack on Drug Prices

Alex Azar, the Trump administration's nominee for Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, vowed to reduce drug prices at his Tuesday confirmation hearing, implying a willingness to follow alternative policies that might go further in dealing with drug makers' list prices, reports Stat . "The most important thing we have to figure out is, can we reverse the incentive on list prices?" Azar said. "There's a lot that we all know we can do on the net, the discounted prices. But I want to work with this committee and anyone who is smart and thoughtful about it. Can we create incentives that actually pull down those list prices so that when the consumer walks in needing to pay out of pocket at the pharmacy, that they're not hit with those kind of costs." Azar also reiterated an earlier indication that he is amenable to more government drug price negotiations, modeled after how private Medicare drug plans negotiate prices for beneficiaries. However, he balked at broader drug price negotiations within Medicare, suggesting policies that depend on a national formulary would significantly limit seniors' access to drugs. Azar also repeated his promise to prioritize addressing drug prices if his HHS Secretary nomination is confirmed.