<em>Big picture.</em> The ultimate goal of the TPP chapter, and the
Korea and Australia agreements before it, appears to be to turn the
negotiation of drug reimbursement rates with pharmaceutical companies
into formal rule making, complete with appeals and potential litigation
at the back end. The procedural hurdles would decrease the negotiating
power of governments to exact price reductions through the kind of
market means used by larger insurers.<br><br><br>