Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Sipa USA
On Thursday, the Biden administration announced that—after months of negotiations—it had finally struck a deal with prescription drug companies to slash the prices of some of Medicare’s most expensive medications, prescriptions for which currently cost the federal government some $56 billion last year.
“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,” President Biden said in a statement.
“Kamala and I both get it. We know it isn’t just about health care,” he added, appearing alongside Vice President Kamala Harris for their first joint event since she gained the Democratic presidential nomination. “It’s about your dignity.”
Starting in 2026, ten prescriptions for ailments ranging from diabetes to blood cancer will have their costs drastically lowered—by up to 79 percent of their manufacturers’ list price. These cuts will save taxpayers $6 billion and seniors and beneficiaries alone more than $1.5 billion, according to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The action was reportedly made possible by the 2022 passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which opened the door for changes to Medicare with the aim of “expanding benefits, lowering drug costs, and improving sustainability.” The deal is only phase one of the administration’s plan to make Medicare more affordable: The Department of Health and Human Services will be allowed to select another set of 15 drugs for price negotiations next year.
