Introduction
The Biden Administration unveiled the first 10 prescription drugs that will be subject to price negotiations between manufacturers and Medicare. His goal is to make costly medications more affordable for older Americans. The agreed upon prices for the first round of drugs are scheduled to go into effect in 2026.
Here are the 10 drugs:
Eliquis made by Bristol-Myers Squibb, used to prevent blood clotting and reduce risk of stroke.
Jardiance made by Boehringer Ingelheim used to lower blood sugar for people with type 2 diabetes.
Xarelto made by Johnson & Johnson used to prevent blood clotting and reduce risk of stroke.
Januvia made by Merck used to lower blood sugar for people with type 2 diabetes.
Farxiga made by AstraZeneca used to treat type 2 diabetes
Entresto made by Novartis used to treat certain types of heart failure.
Enbrel made by Amgen used to treat rheumatoid arthritis.
Imbruvica made by AbbVie used to treat different types of blood cancer.
Stelara made by Janssen used to treat Chrohn's disease.
Fiasp and Novolog insulins made by Novo Nordisk.
These are among the top 50 drugs with the highest spending for Medicare Part D. These 10 medications accounted for $50.5 billion, which is about 20% of the total Part D presciption drug costs from June 1, 2022 to May 31, 2023 according to CMS. Negotiations are underway and will end August 2024. Agreed upon prices will go into effect January 2026. Drug makers have currently filed law suits and declaring the policy unconstitutional. If a drug maker declines to negotiate they must pay an excise tax of up to 95% of its US sales or pull the drugs from the Medicare and Medicaid markets.
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