On July 1, 2025, Dan Sullivan voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed only with the Vice President's tie-breaking vote and exempts more drugs from Medicare price negotiation; the cancer drugs Keytruda and Opdivo were not chosen for negotiation as a result. The same day, Sullivan voted against an amendment to cut Medicare drug prices in half.
Sullivan also voted to confirm Martin Makary to run the Food and Drug Administration, where layoffs cut the inspectors who check foreign drug factories, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose department dropped a plan for $2 generic drugs in Medicare.
Dan Sullivan's Votes on Drug Prices and the Officials Running Drug Policy
- Sullivan Cast One of the 50 Votes to Exempt More Drugs From Medicare Price Negotiation in July 2025. On July 1, 2025, Dan Sullivan voted for H.R. 1, which passed 50 to 50 with the Vice President breaking the tie, so it would have failed without his vote. Its section 71203 widens the orphan-drug exemption from negotiation. The change costs Medicare an additional $8.8 billion and covers drugs with $17.5 billion in total spending by Medicare and beneficiaries in 2023. Selection of Keytruda and Opdivo has been delayed beyond 2026; KFF estimates a typical negotiated discount on Keytruda would mean annual savings on cost-sharing liability of around $3,300 for the seniors who take it.
- Sullivan Voted Against Cutting Medicare Drug Prices in Half in July 2025. On July 1, 2025, during the debate on H.R. 1, Sullivan voted no on Senator Bernie Sanders's amendment "To cut the price of prescription drugs under Medicare in half and expand Medicare to cover dental, vision, and hearing." All 53 Republican senators voted no. KFF polling found that a majority of the public is worried about affording prescription drugs for themselves and their families.
- Sullivan Voted to Confirm Martin Makary, Whose FDA Lost Drug-Factory Inspectors, in March 2025. On March 25, 2025, Sullivan voted to confirm Martin Makary as commissioner of food and drugs. Weeks later, layoffs at his agency left the inspectors who check the foreign factories that make many generic drugs saying "You can't inspect as many sites" (ProPublica, July 7, 2025). Makary resigned on May 12, 2026, and Kyle Diamantas, the deputy commissioner for food, became acting head of the agency.
- Sullivan Voted to Confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Whose Department Dropped $2 Generic Drugs for Medicare. On February 13, 2025, Sullivan voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of health and human services. On March 12, 2025, his department's Medicare innovation center dropped the $2 Drug List model, which would have standardized cost sharing for certain generic drugs in Medicare Part D at $2.
- Sullivan Voted to Confirm Mehmet Oz, Whose Agency Ended a Drug-Plan Premium Program. On April 3, 2025, Sullivan voted to confirm Mehmet Oz to run the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. After his agency ended a Part D premium demonstration, all 4 million PDP enrollees who paid no monthly premium in 2026 will pay a premium in 2027 unless they qualify for low-income help.
What Dan Sullivan's Drug-Price Votes Mean for Alaska Medicare Enrollees
- Medicare drug coverage. Alaska has 118,047 Medicare enrollees, the Alaskans whose drug costs depend on which medicines Medicare negotiates and on what Part D plans charge.
Frequently Asked Questions About Dan Sullivan on Prescription drugs
What is Dan Sullivan's record on prescription drug prices under Trump?
Dan Sullivan voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which exempts more drugs from Medicare price negotiation at a cost of $8.8 billion, and voted against a July 2025 amendment to cut Medicare drug prices in half. He voted to confirm Martin Makary, whose Food and Drug Administration lost drug-factory inspectors, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose department dropped $2 generic drugs for Medicare. Alaska's 118,047 Medicare enrollees are among those affected.
Did Dan Sullivan vote to let Medicare negotiate drug prices?
Dan Sullivan voted in July 2025 for the law that exempts more drugs from negotiation, and he voted against the July 2025 amendment to cut Medicare drug prices in half. Negotiation itself continues; its first negotiated prices took effect in 2026.
Why were Keytruda and Opdivo left out of Medicare drug price negotiation?
The law Dan Sullivan voted for widened the orphan-drug exemption, and KFF reports it will delay selection of Keytruda and Opdivo, two cancer drugs on which Medicare and its enrollees spend billions; Medicare and beneficiaries spent $5.6 billion on Keytruda in 2023.
Last updated: 2026-10-25