Medicare negotiated drug prices for the first time. Here’s what it got
4 months, 1 week ago

Medicare negotiated drug prices for the first time. Here’s what it got

NPR  

Medicare negotiated drug prices for the first time. Here’s what it got toggle caption Nam Y. Huh/AP The White House unveiled the fruits of months of negotiations between the government and pharmaceutical companies: new, lower Medicare prices for 10 blockbuster drugs. It took both sides to reach a good deal.” Sponsor Message The program selected the first 10 medicines for negotiation last year based on several conditions laid out in the Inflation Reduction Act, which ended Medicare’s 20-year ban on negotiating drug prices. Sponsor Message Looking ahead at Medicare drug price negotiation It’s expected Medicare drug price negotiations will save the government $98.5 billion over a decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office, which scored the Inflation Reduction Act.

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History of this topic

Democrats can still pull off a victory before year's end: Lowering drug costs once more
1 month ago

Democrats can still pull off a victory before year's end: Lowering drug costs once more

Salon  

Democrats have a golden opportunity to lower drug prices — again — before the next Congress begins on Jan. 3. Democrats and Republicans alike support two bills that'd rein in pharmacy benefit managers — the gigantic and secretive "pharmaceutical middlemen who squeeze small pharmacies' profits and raise costs for consumers," as Vice President Kamala Harris described them during the campaign. …

Feds sue pharmacy gatekeepers over high insulin costs
3 months ago

Feds sue pharmacy gatekeepers over high insulin costs

Politico  

The action is just the latest government effort to take aim at high drug costs in the U.S., where patients and insurers spend more on medicine than other countries. “The FTC’s administrative action seeks to put an end to the Big Three PBMs’ exploitative conduct and marks an important step in fixing a broken system — a fix that could …

Biden deal to lower prescription drug prices will save taxpayers $6bn next year, Democrats say
4 months, 1 week ago

Biden deal to lower prescription drug prices will save taxpayers $6bn next year, Democrats say

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A landmark price negotiation between pharmaceutical companies and Medicare will …

Medicare Price Negotiations Have Led To Agreements On 10 Drugs
4 months, 1 week ago

Medicare Price Negotiations Have Led To Agreements On 10 Drugs

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING 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. “When these lower prices go into effect, people on Medicare will save $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs …

White House says prescription drug deals will produce billions in savings for taxpayers, seniors
4 months, 1 week ago

White House says prescription drug deals will produce billions in savings for taxpayers, seniors

LA Times  

Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden depart after speaking about the administration’s efforts to lower prescription drug costs during an event at Prince George’s Community College in Largo, Md., on Thursday. Taxpayers are expected to save billions after the Biden administration signed deals with pharmaceutical companies to knock down the list prices for 10 of Medicare’s costliest drugs. “I’ve …

In a first, Medicare has set prices for 10 drugs, saving billions
4 months, 1 week ago

In a first, Medicare has set prices for 10 drugs, saving billions

Politico  

This marks the first time Biden and Harris have rallied together in public since the president dropped his bid for a second term, and offers a chance for Harris to tout one of the administration’s signature domestic achievements. Asked whether it’s fair to compare the negotiated prices to individual drugs’ list prices, which don’t take into account rebates, Dr. Meena …

Biden admin to spend billions to blunt spike in Medicare drug premiums
4 months, 1 week ago

Biden admin to spend billions to blunt spike in Medicare drug premiums

Politico  

But efforts to alleviate the increase — by giving health insurers an extra $15 per member a month — have Republicans accusing the administration of attempting to buy a reprieve for a reliable voting bloc. “This is a way for the executive branch to implement a policy which has very positive political ramifications for them, but with very sketchy legal …

White House set to unveil Medicare price negotiation savings
4 months, 2 weeks ago

White House set to unveil Medicare price negotiation savings

Politico  

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are slated to tout the details during an event in Maryland later that day, casting it as a key accomplishment of a policy platform focused on easing consumer costs that Democratic presidential nominee Harris has vowed to continue if elected in November. Both the White House and the Harris campaign have envisioned …

Medicare spending on Ozempic and similar diabetes drugs soars, study finds, and it could end up costing seniors
8 months, 4 weeks ago

Medicare spending on Ozempic and similar diabetes drugs soars, study finds, and it could end up costing seniors

CNN  

CNN — Medicare shelled out $5.7 billion on Ozempic and other similar diabetes drugs in 2022, up from $57 million in 2018, according to a new KFF analysis. “These drugs offer substantial potential health benefits, but the combination of intense demand, new uses, and high prices for these treatments is likely to place tremendous pressure on Medicare spending, Part D …

Column: A Trump judge slaps down Big Pharma’s attack on Biden’s drug price cuts
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Column: A Trump judge slaps down Big Pharma’s attack on Biden’s drug price cuts

LA Times  

President Biden speaks during an event in August marking the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, which authorized Medicare to negotiate drug prices. “Understandably, drug manufacturers like AstraZeneca don’t like the IRA,” wrote Judge Colm F. Connolly, referring to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which authorized Medicare to negotiate with drugmakers over how much it would pay for …

Column: Big drug makers are whining about having to negotiate with Medicare, but they can’t afford not to
1 year, 2 months ago

Column: Big drug makers are whining about having to negotiate with Medicare, but they can’t afford not to

LA Times  

Medicare is finally allowed to negotiate prescription drug prices with drug companies. Given the pharmaceutical industry’s conviction that the government’s Medicare drug negotiation program will “deal a fatal blow” to its innovative research, “coerce” it into sacrificing its rightful profits, kill innocent patients and was also unconstitutional, naturally the companies would decline to participate. Knowing that Medicare can’t walk away …

Biden says that all 10 drugs targeted for the first Medicare price negotiations will participate
1 year, 2 months ago

Biden says that all 10 drugs targeted for the first Medicare price negotiations will participate

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that the manufacturers of all of the first 10 prescription drugs selected for Medicare’s first price negotiations have agreed to participate, clearing the way for talks that could lower their costs in coming years and give him a potential political win heading into next year’s election. In announcing that price negotiations will go …

Why Republican Presidential Contenders Are Mostly Silent About Biden’s Signature Prescription Drug Policy
1 year, 3 months ago

Why Republican Presidential Contenders Are Mostly Silent About Biden’s Signature Prescription Drug Policy

Huff Post  

President Joe Biden speaks during an event celebrating the start of Medicare's prescription drug price negotiation at the White House on Aug. 29, 2023. “Unlike Donald Trump, President Biden had the courage to stand up to Big Pharma, and thanks to his and Democrats’ leadership, seniors won’t have to choose between putting a meal on the table and their life-saving …

Biden’s Medicare price negotiation push is broadly popular. But he’s not getting much credit
1 year, 3 months ago

Biden’s Medicare price negotiation push is broadly popular. But he’s not getting much credit

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is trumpeting Medicare’s new powers to negotiate directly with drugmakers on the cost of prescription medications — but a poll shows that any immediate political boost that Biden gets for enacting the overwhelmingly popular policy may be limited. Even among the Americans who support allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, approval of Biden’s handling of …

5 things to know about the new drug pricing negotiations
1 year, 3 months ago

5 things to know about the new drug pricing negotiations

Salon  

The Biden administration has picked the first 10 high-priced prescription drugs subject to federal price negotiations, taking a swipe at the powerful pharmaceutical industry. But that would be true only if companies aren't already pricing their drugs as high as the private market will bear, said Tricia Neuman, executive director of KFF's program on Medicare policy. At least six drug …

The Biden administration unveils the first 10 medications up for price negotiation
1 year, 3 months ago

The Biden administration unveils the first 10 medications up for price negotiation

NPR  

The Biden administration unveils the first 10 medications up for price negotiation A MARTÍNEZ, HOST: About a quarter of adults in the U.S. say they have to take four or more prescription medications. The Biden administration has picked 10 medications to start negotiating lower prices for Medicare patients, and it's overriding an argument from the pharmaceutical industry that reduced profits …

10 drugs targeted for Medicare price negotiations as Biden pitches cost reductions
1 year, 3 months ago

10 drugs targeted for Medicare price negotiations as Biden pitches cost reductions

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden touted the potential cost savings of Medicare’s first-ever price negotiations for widely used prescription drugs on Tuesday as he struggles to convince Americans that he’s improved their lives as he runs for reelection. Currently, pharmacy benefit managers that run Medicare prescription plans negotiate rebates off a drug’s price. The new drug price negotiations aim “to …

Biden targets 10 drugs for Medicare price negotiations
1 year, 3 months ago

Biden targets 10 drugs for Medicare price negotiations

LA Times  

President Biden spoke at Irvine Valley College on Oct, 14, 2022, about his actions to protect and strengthen Medicare and Social Security. President Biden touted the potential cost savings of Medicare‘s first-ever price negotiations for widely used prescription drugs on Tuesday as he struggles to convince Americans that he’s improved their lives as he runs for reelection. Currently, pharmacy benefit …

US names 10 prescription drugs subject to price negotiations
1 year, 3 months ago

US names 10 prescription drugs subject to price negotiations

Al Jazeera  

Move is expected to cut costs for some patients but faces lawsuits from drugmakers and heavy criticism from Republicans. US President Joe Biden’s administration has released a list of 10 prescription medicines that will be subject to the first-ever price negotiations by the United States Medicare health programme, a move that could affect tens of millions of people. Biden’s signature …

Opinion: Here’s Big Pharma’s playbook to bankrupt Americans who can’t afford medications
1 year, 4 months ago

Opinion: Here’s Big Pharma’s playbook to bankrupt Americans who can’t afford medications

LA Times  

America’s pharmaceutical giants are now suing to block the federal government’s first effort at drug price regulation. Last year’s Inflation Reduction Act included what on its face seems a modest proposal: The federal government would for the first time be empowered to negotiate prices Medicare pays for drugs — but only for 10 very expensive medicines beginning in 2026. Those …

What's a fair price for a prescription drug? Medicare's about to weigh in
1 year, 4 months ago

What's a fair price for a prescription drug? Medicare's about to weigh in

NPR  

What's a fair price for a prescription drug? Medicare can push back and signal its priorities to drugmakers Although this unprecedented negotiation process presents several tricky decisions for Medicare, experts said the need to keep finding better treatments for dire diseases looms largest. "This chronic tension between trying to make sure that we keep health care affordable and that we …

Drugmaker lobbying group sues over plan to negotiate Medicare drug prices
1 year, 6 months ago

Drugmaker lobbying group sues over plan to negotiate Medicare drug prices

Associated Press  

A key drugmaker lobbying group has joined the legal fight against the federal government’s plan to negotiate Medicare drug prices. PhRMA said in a federal court complaint filed Wednesday that the act forces drugmakers to agree to a “government-dictated price” under the threat of a heavy tax. It also says the program violates the due process clause of the Constitution’s …

Merck sues federal government, calling plan to negotiate Medicare drug prices extortion
1 year, 6 months ago

Merck sues federal government, calling plan to negotiate Medicare drug prices extortion

Associated Press  

Merck is suing the federal government over a plan to negotiate Medicare drug prices, calling the program a sham equivalent to extortion. Instead, it said the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services selects drugs to be included and then dictates the price, threatening drugmakers with “a ruinous daily excise tax” if they decline to agree. Instead, Merck said the …

Merck sues federal government, calling plan to negotiate Medicare drug prices ‘extortion’
1 year, 6 months ago

Merck sues federal government, calling plan to negotiate Medicare drug prices ‘extortion’

LA Times  

The company takes issue with a plan to negotiate Medicare drug prices. Merck is suing the federal government over a plan to negotiate Medicare drug prices, calling the program a sham equivalent to extortion. Instead, it said the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services selects drugs to be included and then dictates the price, threatening drugmakers with “a ruinous …

Biden says he’s focused ‘intensely’ on lowering drug costs
1 year, 9 months ago

Biden says he’s focused ‘intensely’ on lowering drug costs

Associated Press  

LAS VEGAS — President Joe Biden on Wednesday said his administration was focused “intensely” on lowering health care costs and took aim at “MAGA” Republicans who he said are intent on dialing back Medicare coverage for millions of Americans. “Let’s protect the lower prescription drug costs for everyone” Already, the legislation caps the price of insulin at $35 for disabled …

Biden will seek Medicare changes, up tax rate in new budget
1 year, 9 months ago

Biden will seek Medicare changes, up tax rate in new budget

The Hindu  

President Joe Biden wants to increase taxes to boost funding for Medicare and expand the programme's ability to negotiate lower costs for prescription drugs, according to advance details of his budget proposal being released later this week. The Medicare tax rate would rise from 3.8% to 5% on income exceeding $400,000 per year, including salaries and capital gains. “This modest …

U.S. government to start imposing inflation penalties on drugmakers in 2025
1 year, 10 months ago

U.S. government to start imposing inflation penalties on drugmakers in 2025

The Hindu  

The U.S. government will begin imposing penalties in 2025 on drug companies that charge its Medicare program prices that rise faster than inflation, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said on Thursday. The agency issued initial guidance on how it will implement a provision in President Joe Biden's signature Inflation Reduction Act that penalizes drugmakers for raising prices faster …

Rep. Scott Peters’ Pharma Ties Complicate Bid To Lead Moderate Democrats
2 years ago

Rep. Scott Peters’ Pharma Ties Complicate Bid To Lead Moderate Democrats

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING As Republicans prepare to take over the House with a narrow majority, House Democrats’ largest moderate faction, the New Democrat Coalition, is poised to play a potentially critical role in bipartisan legislation. Kuster’s allies and advocates for affordable prescription drugs are shining a light on Peters’ role as a prominent obstacle to legislation empowering Medicare to negotiate …

Biden pushing lower prescription drug costs in midterm press
2 years, 2 months ago

Biden pushing lower prescription drug costs in midterm press

Associated Press  

IRVINE, California — President Joe Biden is highlighting his administration’s efforts to lower prescription drug costs on Friday as part of his three-state Western tour this week, as he confronts a sobering inflation report in the waning weeks before midterm elections. And on a month-to-month basis, such “core” prices soared 0.6% for a second straight time, defying expectations for a …

Legal fights and loopholes could blunt Medicare's new power to control drug prices
2 years, 3 months ago

Legal fights and loopholes could blunt Medicare's new power to control drug prices

NPR  

Legal fights and loopholes could blunt Medicare's new power to control drug prices Enlarge this image toggle caption Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images On Tuesday, the White House celebrated the passage of the the Inflation Reduction Act, a sweeping climate, tax and health care package passed in August. Taking advantage of the law's vulnerabilities At the same time, the …

EXPLAINER: Lower prescription prices to take time in new law
2 years, 3 months ago

EXPLAINER: Lower prescription prices to take time in new law

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — After decades of failed attempts, Democrats passed legislation that aims to rein in the soaring costs of drugs for some in the United States. That new bargaining power won’t kick in until 2025, when Medicare is able to haggle over the price of 10 drugs covered by its prescription plan. In the first year, Medicare will be allowed …

Column: Everyone is thrilled that Medicare can finally negotiate drug prices. Prepare to be disappointed
2 years, 4 months ago

Column: Everyone is thrilled that Medicare can finally negotiate drug prices. Prepare to be disappointed

LA Times  

President Biden hands the pen used to sign the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 to Sen. Joe Manchin. It’s the provision allowing Medicare to negotiate pharmaceutical prices directly with drug companies for the first time. — Simon F. Haeder, Texas A&M The idea has always garnered overwhelming support among the public, which has interpreted the ban on Medicare’s negotiating authority …

Congress is about to act on drug price reform. Here's what you need to know
2 years, 4 months ago

Congress is about to act on drug price reform. Here's what you need to know

NPR  

Congress is about to act on drug price reform. Here's what you need to know Enlarge this image toggle caption Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images Americans pay way more than people in other countries do for prescription drugs. "The proposal to limit out-of-pocket expenses that's on the table right now would absolutely make a huge …

Sanders to Biden: Cut back looming Medicare premium hike
3 years ago

Sanders to Biden: Cut back looming Medicare premium hike

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Sen. Bernie Sanders is asking the White House to cut back a big Medicare premium hike set to take effect in weeks and tied to a pricey Alzheimer’s drug whose benefits have been widely questioned. In a letter Friday to President Joe Biden, the Vermont Independent called on the president to act immediately to prevent the portion of …

Real Medicare drug savings in Dems’ bill — but not overnight
3 years, 1 month ago

Real Medicare drug savings in Dems’ bill — but not overnight

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Medicare enrollees who take expensive medicines could save thousands of dollars a year under the Democrats’ sweeping social agenda bill, but those dividends won’t come overnight. A huge development would follow in 2024: the first-ever cap on out-of-pocket costs for nearly 50 million seniors in Medicare’s Part D pharmacy drug program. Seniors would see the first fruits of …

Democrats reach drug price deal, Biden upbeat on Manchin
3 years, 1 month ago

Democrats reach drug price deal, Biden upbeat on Manchin

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Democrats reached agreement Tuesday on a plan to lower prescription drug costs for most older people, capping out-of-pocket Medicare costs at $2,000 and reducing the price of insulin, salvaging a campaign promise as part of President Joe Biden’s $1.75 trillion domestic policy proposal. And there would be “a new monthly cap on the price of insulin, and an …

Column: Letting Medicare negotiate drug prices won’t help as much as you think
3 years, 1 month ago

Column: Letting Medicare negotiate drug prices won’t help as much as you think

LA Times  

Drug prices are a never-ending concern for Americans, so why can’t Congress do anything about them? Foreign countries whose drug prices are often cited as possible benchmarks for U.S. healthcare payers don’t enter talks with one arm tied behind their backs — they can set prices based on measures of effectiveness, value and the cost of research and development. “Brand-name …

Democrats' deal on prescription drugs would lower costs for seniors
3 years, 1 month ago

Democrats' deal on prescription drugs would lower costs for seniors

NPR  

Democrats' deal on prescription drugs would lower costs for seniors Enlarge this image toggle caption Julio Cortez/AP Julio Cortez/AP Democrats in Congress have made a big, if substantially pared back, step toward lowering prescription drug costs for older Americans, reaching a compromise on the matter after significant infighting on the issue. "After Senator Sinema reached earlier agreement with President Biden …

Pro-pharma Democrats kill bill to lower drug costs — advocates ask: “What did they get for that?”
3 years, 1 month ago

Pro-pharma Democrats kill bill to lower drug costs — advocates ask: “What did they get for that?”

Salon  

It was the "ugliest night" the late Rep. Walter Jones, a North Carolina Republican, said he had witnessed in two decades in politics. "If we don't, it's only because 's really trying to kill everything and try to convince their lackeys, as they call them in Congress, not to do anything," House Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., who …

Letters to the Editor: Negotiating fair Medicare drug prices is free-market capitalism, not socialism
3 years, 3 months ago

Letters to the Editor: Negotiating fair Medicare drug prices is free-market capitalism, not socialism

LA Times  

To the editor: The pharmaceutical industry’s claim that allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices is tantamount to socialism seems to turn the argument of who is profiting from whom on its head. The industry’s threat that innovation would suffer if it had to negotiate drug prices with Medicare doesn’t seem right. It would be highly educational for the readers to …

Big Pharma, medical firms donated $750K to Kyrsten Sinema — then she opposed drug bill
3 years, 3 months ago

Big Pharma, medical firms donated $750K to Kyrsten Sinema — then she opposed drug bill

Salon  

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, the controversial Arizona Democrat who threatens to derail President Biden's legislative agenda, received more than $750,000 in donations from the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. The claim that the bill would hinder development is a Big Pharma "lie" and "scare tactic," said Mitchell, who suffers from multiple myeloma, a blood cancer treated with a combination of drugs …

Column: Drugmakers see disaster in Medicare negotiating prices. Don’t listen to them
3 years, 3 months ago

Column: Drugmakers see disaster in Medicare negotiating prices. Don’t listen to them

LA Times  

The pharmaceutical industry is pushing back against a Democratic bill that would allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices. The industry said in an open letter to Congress that letting Medicare haggle on behalf of its 63 million beneficiaries would give the government “the power to set the price of medicines.” Leaders of nearly two dozen drug manufacturers said that though …

To curb drug prices, Democrats still seeking a balance
3 years, 6 months ago

To curb drug prices, Democrats still seeking a balance

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Democrats are committed to passing legislation this year to curb prescription drug prices, but they’re still disagreeing on how to cut costs for patients and taxpayers while preserving profits that lure investors to back potentially promising treatments. Wyden said he personally is convinced that “it’s long past time to give Medicare the authority to negotiate better prices for …

Democrats must find narrow path to curb high medicine prices
3 years, 7 months ago

Democrats must find narrow path to curb high medicine prices

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s call for authorizing Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices has energized Democrats on a politically popular idea they’ve been pushing for nearly 20 years only to encounter frustration. “I don’t think anybody is fully prepared for the onslaught we expect from PhRMA,” said Margarida Jorge, campaign director for Lower Drug Prices Now, a coalition …

Trump plan to curb drug costs dealt setback in court
4 years ago

Trump plan to curb drug costs dealt setback in court

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — A late-term maneuver by President Donald Trump to use lower drug prices paid overseas to limit some of Medicare’s own costs suffered a legal setback Wednesday that appears likely to keep the policy from taking effect before the president leaves office. U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake in Baltimore issued a nationwide injunction that prevents the Centers for …

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