News and Reports | May 18, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Following the Supreme Court’s decision this morning to decline petitions from AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Janssen, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, and Boehringer Ingelheim challenging the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, Patients For Affordable Drugs and Public Citizen held a press briefing with a patient advocate and legal expert to discuss the implications for patients and the pharmaceutical industry’s ongoing legal campaign.
Speakers emphasized that the Court’s action leaves in place lower court rulings rejecting the pharmaceutical industry’s claims and allows the program to continue delivering lower drug prices for patients across the nation.
Patients For Affordable Drugs is also launching a mobile billboard in Washington, D.C., highlighting the Supreme Court’s decision and calling for continued progress to lower drug prices for patients.
Merith Basey, CEO of Patients For Affordable Drugs, said:
“After repeated losses in the lower courts, drugmakers asked the Supreme Court to step in — and the Court declined. That means Medicare will continue delivering lower drug prices for patients on high-cost medications without interruption. Thank you to the patients who had the courage to share their lived experiences with high drug prices and challenge the industry that looted Medicare for more than two decades at the expense of American patients and taxpayers. The focus now must be on full implementation and continued expansion – making sure more drugs are included in negotiations and that savings reach more Americans who need them. For too long, patients have carried the burden of high drug prices in this country. And today’s decision helps ensure that change continues. It’s US v. Pharma – and today, patients won.”
Peter Maybarduk, Access to Medicines Director at Public Citizen, said:
“Medicare price negotiation is here to stay. Drugmakers wasted 20 years of the country’s time and tens of billions of taxpayer dollars obstructing, lobbying, buying influence, misleading the public, and suing to prevent this day, but they have lost. Drugmakers with outstanding lawsuits should finally understand this, drop their suits, and let the people finally have something everyone wants, which is affordable medicine and a government that negotiates aggressively on Americans’ behalf. Even now, with its legal strategy failing, Big Pharma has hired hundreds of lobbyists to gut price negotiations through Congress. Pharma will fail in this, too. Instead, it’s time for Congress to make negotiation stronger, and make medicine far more affordable for all, by negotiating affordable prices for more drugs, sooner, not only for Medicare but for all payers and all people, and ensure that Americans no longer pay the highest prices in the world for medicine. “
Michael Lieberman, Counsel for Patients For Affordable Drugs at Fairmark Partners LLP, said:
“The Supreme Court’s denial of these petitions brings an end to these six companies’ efforts to dismantle the Medicare Negotiation program. Six of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, represented by some of the largest law firms in the world, raised a wide variety of legal arguments against the program. Now, courts at all three levels of the federal system have uniformly rejected those arguments, confirming that pharma companies do not have a constitutional right to charge the government exorbitant prices for prescription drugs.”
Judy Aiken, a patient advocate from Maine who takes Enbrel, one of the first 10 drugs up for Medicare negotiation, said:
“For years, I paid thousands of dollars out-of-pocket for the medication I needed to manage my condition. Even as a nurse, there were times I had to skip doses because I simply couldn’t afford it. Now, with lower prices and cost protections, I can take my medication as prescribed without that constant financial stress. Today’s decision means that relief can continue for patients like me.”
Patients For Affordable Drugs has submitted six amicus briefs in these cases on behalf of patients and signed onto seven briefs led by Public Citizen and supported by Protect Our Care, Doctors for America, and Families USA to support the government’s opposition to the lawsuits and amplify the experiences of patients harmed by high drug prices. You can find more information at fightpharma.org.
The Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program is already delivering savings to patients. Lower negotiated prices for the first 10 drugs took effect on January 1, 2026, and are projected to save 9 million people on Medicare $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs this year, while saving taxpayers $6 billion. Additional rounds of negotiation are underway, with more drugs set to see lower prices in the coming years.
Reporters who would like a recording of the briefing or to connect with any of the speakers can reach out to Brennan Fiske at [email protected].
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Patients For Affordable Drugs is the only national patient advocacy organization focused exclusively on policies that lower prescription drug prices. We empower and mobilize patients by amplifying their experiences with high drug prices to hold those in power to account and fight to shape and achieve system-changing policies that make prescription drugs affordable for all people in the United States. P4AD does not accept funding from organizations that profit from the development and distribution of drugs. To learn more, visit PatientsForAffordableDrugs.org