Drugmakers will be required to negotiate on prices for more medications paid for by Medicare, the latest step in the Trump administration’s campaign to rein in prescription costs. Starting next year, private insurers that provide coverage to about 20 million seniors through Medicare Advantage will get new powers to bargain over drugs administered in doctor’s offices or hospitals, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Tuesday in an interview with Bloomberg. Currently, such drugs are paid for at their cost, plus a percentage fee for doctors, under what’s known as Medicare Part B. (Anna Edney, Bloomberg News)
