The Biden administration released its list of the first 10 drugs that Medicare will target for price cuts – reductions the government plans to achieve by negotiating the prices with drug makers.
The list includes Eliquis, a drug to prevent blood clots used by more than 3.7 million people on Medicare in the year ending May 2023 at a cost of $16.4 billion to the program, and Xarelto, another blood thinner used by more than 1.3 million people on Medicare at a cost to the program of more than $6 billion.
Diabetes drugs Jardiance, Januvia, Farxiga and Fiasp/Novolog are on the list, as are Enbrel and Stelara, drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and Crohn’s disease. Imbruvica, a drug that treats blood cancers, is also on the list.
The power to negotiate the prices comes from the Inflation Reduction Act passed last year. The actual negotiations will occur during the next two years, with prices announced by Sept. 1, 2024. But the lower prices for the drugs won’t begin until 2026.
Drug makers have said the new provisions are unconstitutional and have filed a series of lawsuits to try to stop them. They have argued it will hamper innovation and new cures.
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