WWFH Statement on CMS’s Finalized Medicare Drug Negotiation Policy for Certain Fixed-Dose Combination Therapies

We Work For Health is concerned by CMS’s decision to finalize changes to how certain fixed-dose combination therapies will be treated under the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program.

While we share the goal of making medicines more affordable for patients, policies intended to lower costs should not come at the expense of patient choice, access, or future medical innovation. By reducing incentives to invest in new treatment options, CMS risks discouraging the development of therapies designed to make care more accessible and convenient, particularly for older adults, people living in rural communities, and those managing serious or chronic illnesses. Ultimately, patients benefit when innovators continue to develop new ways to deliver care that improve both access and treatment experience.

"Patients deserve access to treatments that not only improve health outcomes, but also make care more accessible and manageable," said Dan Leonard, Executive Director of We Work For Health. "Innovations that allow patients to receive treatment more conveniently, spend less time in clinical settings, and overcome barriers to care should be encouraged, not discouraged. We are concerned that this policy sends the wrong signal to innovators developing patient-centered advances and could ultimately limit future treatment options for the people who need them most."

For decades, American leadership in biomedical innovation has delivered new treatments, stronger health outcomes, and economic growth. Maintaining that leadership requires policies that support both affordability and continued investment in the next generation of medical advances.

We Work For Health remains committed to working with policymakers, patients, providers, and other stakeholders to advance solutions that lower costs while preserving access to care, encouraging innovation, and ensuring patients continue to benefit from a full range of treatment options.

See our comments to CMS here.