Jan's Plans & Pans - September 6, 2023

For far too long, our laws have allowed Big Pharma to rake in record profits by increasing the costs of lifesaving prescription drugs. Americans pay two to three times as much as people in other countries for the same prescription drugs. Thanks to the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act last year, Medicare will be able to negotiate for lower drug costs. Not a single Republican in Congress voted for this bill. 

Over the next four years, Medicare will negotiate prices for up to 60 drugs covered under Medicare Part D and Part B, and up to an additional 20 drugs every year after that. The first 10 drugs subject to Medicare price negotiation are:

• Eliquis, a blood clot drug
• Jardiance, a diabetes and heart failure drug
• Xarelto, a blood clot drug
• Januvia, a diabetes drug
• Farxiga, a drug that treats diabetes, heart failure and chronic kidney disease
• Entresto, a heart failure drug
• Enbrel, an arthritis drug
• Imbruvica, a blood cancer drug
• Stelera, a drug that treats psoriasis, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis
• Fiasp, Fiasp FlexTouch, Fiasp PenFill, NovoLog, NovoLog FlexPen and NovoLog PenFill, which treat diabetes

This news will help decrease costs for up to 9 million seniors on Medicare who currently pay as much as $6,500 in out-of-pocket costs per year for these prescriptions. There is still more work to be done, but this announcement is a major step in ensuring that all Americans have access to the health care they need and deserve.