What’s next in Medicare price negotiation

The medications announced on Tuesday target highly common diseases in the U.S., such as heart disease, heart failure, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes. The selection included insulin drug NovoLog, blood thinner Eliquis, antidiabetic Jardiance and leukemia drug Imbruvica, as well as a more unanticipated pick: Stelara, which is used to treat Crohn’s disease. The drugs chosen for initial Medicare price negotiation were picked based on a very specific set of guidelines. They couldn’t be “orphan drugs” (medications for diseases so rare that manufacturers have little incentive to develop them without government...