Germany’s lawmakers have voted to advance a cost-saving healthcare bill that would more than double mandatory manufacturer rebates on most brand prescription drugs from 7% to 15.5%. The legislation also raises the discount on patented vaccines to 9% and imposes a price freeze on vaccines used for immunizations from 2027 through 2030. The bill’s downstream effects include tighter scrutiny of drug value and heightened market-access barriers for products without clear clinical benefit. Trade groups and companies have signaled concern that the policy could push drugmakers to reassess investment and pricing strategy. The policy also sets up further transatlantic friction: the USTR has initiated a Section 301 investigation scrutinizing whether Germany’s pricing policies discriminate against American commerce.