White House says deals struck to cut prices of popular Medicare drugs that cost $50 billion yearly
The Biden administration is taking a victory lap after federal officials inšked deals with drug companies to lower the price for 10 of Medicareās most popular and costliest drugs, but shared few immediate details about the new price older Americans will pay when they fill those prescriptions.
White House officials said Wednesday night they expect US taxpayers to save $6 billion on the new prices, while older Americans could save roughlį£y $1.5 billion on their medications.
Those projections, however, were based on dated estimateš °s and the administration shared no details as to how they arrived at the figures.
Nonetheless, the newly negotiated prices ā still elusive to the public as of early Thursday morning ā will impact the price of drugs used by millions of older Americāans to help manage diabetes, blood cancers and prevent heart failure or blood clots.
The drugs include the blood thinners Xareālto and Eliquis and diabetes drugs Jardiance and Januvia.
Medicare spent $50 billion covering the drugs lšÆast yeaź¦«r.
Itās a landmark deal for the Medicare program, which provides health careš coverage for more than 67 million older and disabled Americans.
For decades, the federal government had been barred from bartering with špharmaceutical companies over the price of their drugs, even though itās a routine process for private insurers.
āThis meant that drug companź¦ies could basically charge whatever they want for life-saving treatments people rely on, and all Americans paid the price,š®ā White House adviser Neera Tanden told reporters in a Wednesday night call.
The drug deals will become a focal point for Vice President Kamala Harrisā presidential campaign, especially sišnce she cast the tie-breaking vote to pass the law.
She will join President Joe Biden Thursday to announce the drugš ŗ prices, theāir first joint speaking appearance since she replaced him at the top of the Democratic ticket, as they both struggle to convince voters that costs will trend down after years of above-normal inflation.
The pair last appeared publicly together to welcome back to the US Amą½§ericans detained in Russia whoąµ² were freed as part of a massive prisoner swap earlier this month.
Powerful pharmaceutical companies unsuccessfully tried to file lawsuits to stop the negotiations, whšich became law in 2022, when a Democratic-controlled Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, overhauling several Medicare prescription drug regulations.
But executiź¦Æves of those companies have also hinted in recent weeks during earnings calls that they donāt expect the negotiations to impact their bottom line.
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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversaw the dealmaking, is expected to release the final drug prišces later Thursday.
The new prices wonāt go into effect until 2026.
Nešxtā year, the Department of Health and Human Services can select another 15 drugs for price negotiations.
Before the drug prices were finalšized, the Congressional Budget Office estimated the negotiations could save the federal government $25 billion išn 2031.
The official event comes a day before Harris is set to š unveilš part of her economic agenda on Friday in North Carolina, where she was aiming to roll out other ways she plans to help cut costs and boost incomes for the middle class.