WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Tuesday the first 10 prescription drugs that will have Medicare negotiate prices under the Inflation Reduction Act.
The drugs selected to undergo negotiations are:
- Eliquis, a blood thinner
- Xarelto, a blood thinner
- Januvia, a diabetes drug
- Jardiance, a diabetes drug
- Enbrel, a rheumatoid arthritis drug
- Imbruvica, a drug for blood cancers
- Farxiga, a drug for diabetes, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease
- Entresto, a heart failure drug
- Stelara, a drug for psoriasis and Crohn’s disease
- Fiasp and NovoLog, for diabetes
The move is the latest from the Biden administration to drive down the high cost of prescription drugs for older people.
“Today is the start of a new deal for patients where Big Pharma doesn’t just get a blank check at your expense and the expense of the American people,” Biden said. “On my watch, health care should be a right not a privilege in this country.”
Medicare provides health insurance coverage to 65 million people in the United States. People who pay for those 10 drugs out of pocket ended up spending $3.4 billion in out-of-pocket costs for them in 2022, according to the government.
Negotiations will occur during the next two years but the lower prices for the drugs won’t begin until 2026.
“We’re going to see this through,” he said. “We’re going to keep standing up to Big Pharma and we’re not going to back down.”
Drugmakers will have 30 days to sign an agreement to participate in the negotiations, or they may face tax penalties. Major drug companies Johnson & Johnson, Merck, and Bristol Myers Squibb have filed legal action against the administration, claiming it would reduce spending in research and development.
“Today’s announcement is the result of a rushed process focused on short-term political gain rather than what is best for patients,” Stephen Ubl, president and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said in a statement. “Politics should not dictate which treatments and cures are worth developing and who should get access to them.”
The Biden campaign praised the move, saying Biden got the job done where previous attempts by presidents had failed.
“Elections have consequences,” campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement.
