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Trump is unlikely to end Medicare drug price talks — here's what that means for patients and pharma

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President Donald Trump likely won't do away with a process that allows Medicare to negotiate drug prices with manufacturers.

The negotiations are a key provision of Biden's Inflation Reduction Act , or IRA, that aims to lower prescription medicine costs for seniors and save the government nearly $100 billion in Medicare spending over the next decade .

The path he takes could have huge stakes for the prices 68 million Medicare beneficiaries in the U.S. pay for their medications.

Trump could influence whether Medicare 's initial price offer for a drug is closer to the ceiling price.

Major changes to the price negotiations are much less likely to occur, as they would require help from Congress .

It's unclear how Trump will approach the ongoing legal fight between manufacturers and the federal government over the Medicare program.