Verma: Negotiating Medicare Drug Prices Not a ‘Simple Yes or No Answer’

Asked if she would push for negotiating drug prices under Medicare as the next CMS administrator, Seema Verma told a Senate committee she couldn’t give a simple “yes or no answer.”

Verma said she was thankful to have the pharmacy benefit managers who currently negotiate prices under Medicare Part D.

Questioned by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Verma said “we need to do everything we can do to make drugs more affordable for seniors.” Later, she pledged to work with the FDA to coordinate the timing of coverage and payment decisions following the approval of new products.