On July 9, President Biden signed an Executive Order aimed at curbing anti-competitive practices within several industries, including in health care. A fact sheet on the order is available here. Key provisions include:
- Drug Importation. The order directs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to work with states and Tribes on a plan to import prescription drugs from Canada, pursuant to the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003.
- The order directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to increase support for generic and biosimilar drugs.
- Drug Pricing. HHS is directed to issue a comprehensive plan within 45 days to combat high prescription drug prices and price gouging.
- Pay for Delay. The order encourages the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to ban “pay for delay” and similar agreements in the pharmaceutical sector by way of federal rulemaking.
- Hospital Mergers. The order emphasizes that hospital mergers can be harmful to patients, encouraging the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FTC to review and revise hospital merger guidelines.