This is a BFD for many seniors and their families :
The first-ever negotiations between the federal government and pharmaceutical companies have led to agreements that will lower the prices of 10 treatments, reducing costs for the Medicare program and for some individual seniors, the Biden administration announced early Thursday morning.
This round of negotiations began one year ago and took place because of the Inflation Reduction Act, the law that Democrats in Congress passed on a party-line vote and that President Joe Biden signed two years ago. The new prices are for drugs covering a variety of conditions, including diabetes and inflammatory illnesses, and will take effect in January 2026.
The negotiation process is going to happen each year, with a new set of drugs each time.
“When these lower prices go into effect, people on Medicare will save $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs for their prescription drugs and Medicare will save $6 billion in the first year alone,” Biden said in a prepared statement. “It’s a relief for the millions of seniors that take these drugs to treat everything from heart failure, blood clots, diabetes, arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and more ― and it’s a relief for American taxpayers...
A statement released by the White House details the treatments and lower costs. Here's their summary chart of the 10 initial drugs affected (click to enlarge):
The statement goes on to note
People with Medicare will continue to see their prescription drug costs go down as more provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act go into effect next year. Nearly 19 million seniors and other Part D beneficiaries are projected to save $400 per year on prescription drugs when the out-of-pocket cap drops to $2,000 in 2025, and 1.9 million enrollees with the highest drug costs will save an average of $2,500 per year. And the lower prices negotiated for the high-spend drugs announced today will go into effect in 2026.
This is not just going to cut costs for many seniors on fixed incomes, but it's also going to save lives as more people have access to once- unaffordable treatments. As the article points out, this is the result of the Inflation Reduction Act passed by Democrats with no Republican support (although watch them try to claim it!). These are the compassionate, practical results you get with Democratic governance.
(Photo: Patrick Semansky/ AP)
