Major Step on the Road to Reducing Drug Costs
For Immediate Release:
August 29, 2023
Washington, DC: Today, the Medicare program announced the first ten drugs selected for price negotiations under new authority given to the Secretary of Health & Human Services (HHS) by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed into law just over a year ago.
With the negotiated prices of these ten drugs effective in 2026, additional drugs will be added each year. The negotiation process applies to a limited number of high-cost drugs with no competition and that have been on the market for a number of years.
The list of ten drugs is available here. According to a press release issued by HHS, “[t]hese selected drugs accounted for $50.5 billion in total Part D gross covered prescription drug costs, or about 20%, of total Part D gross covered prescription drug costs between June 1, 2022 and May 31, 2023.” In 2022 alone, these medications accounted for $3.4 billion in Medicare beneficiary out-of-pocket costs. A West Health-Gallup poll released on August 28, 2023 shows 83% of the U.S. population favors Medicare negotiating with drug companies to lower prescription drug prices for its recipients.
The IRA has already saved Medicare beneficiaries money, including by capping insulin costs. “This is the next major step in a critical effort to address out-of-control drugs costs in the Medicare program,” said Judith Stein, Executive Director and Founder of the Center for Medicare Advocacy. “We applaud the Biden Administration for protecting beneficiaries’ access to reasonably priced medications and the Medicare program’s fiscal solvency. We urge HHS to zealously defend against baseless lawsuits filed by the pharmaceutical industry seeking to defeat these critical consumer protections.”
Contact:
Matt Shepard, Communications Director
MShepard@MedicareAdvocacy.org
202-293-5760
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About the Center for Medicare Advocacy: The Center for Medicare Advocacy (https://www.medicareadvocacy.org) is a national, nonprofit, non-partisan law organization that works to advance access to comprehensive Medicare coverage, health equity, and quality health care for older people and people with disabilities through legal analysis, education, and advocacy.