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White House says deals struck to cut prices of popular Medicare drugs that cost $50 billion yearly

White House says deals struck to cut prices of popular Medicare drugs that cost $50 billion yearly
Today, the negotiation period for the drug price program officially ends putting millions of Medicare patients one step closer to affordable prescription drugs. By 2026 the potential savings for the first of these 10 prescription drugs including commonly used blood thinners and diabetic treatments could be life saving the people right now, taking these drugs spend about $3 billion out of pocket on these drugs. So it is huge. The drug price negotiation program under the Democrat pass Inflation reduction Act is ending its negotiation period today, after nearly *** year since drug companies faced *** choice voluntarily sign up for the program or pay taxes the following process back and forth negotiations, considering the cost to produce each drug. Some other factors include what did drug companies spend on research and development? Um What kind of federal financial support was given to them? The program meant to make drugs more affordable for those under Medicare part D and for companies themselves demand for supply, potentially offsetting smaller profit margins. Companies I think are expressing right now, I think *** bit of cautious optimism in terms of the impact that it will have on their revenue streams. But some companies challenging the program argue it's unconstitutional, questioning its impact of future innovative medicine. There will be plenty of opportunities for drug companies to continue to innovate and bring new drugs to market and look that's, that's their business. And exactly one month will get the official published prices for these first set of drugs. And then over the course of the next two years, doctors hope to add about 30 more drugs to the list in Washington. I'm Amy Lou.
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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 inked deals with drug companies to lower the price for 10 of Medicare’s 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 U.S. taxpayers to save $6 billion on the new prices, while older Americans could save roughly $1.5 billion on their medications. Those projections, however, were based on dated estimates and the administration shared no details as to how they arrived at the figures.Nonetheless, the newly negotiated prices — still elusive to the public as of early Thursday morning — will impact the price of drugs used by millions of older Americans to help manage diabetes, blood cancers and prevent heart failure or blood clots.The drugs include the blood thinners Xarelto and Eliquis and diabetes drugs Jardiance and Januvia. Medicare spent $50 billion covering the drugs last year.It's a landmark deal for the Medicare program, which provides health care coverage for more than 67 million older and disabled Americans. For decades, the federal government had been barred from bartering with pharmaceutical companies over the price of their drugs, even though it's a routine process for private insurers.“This meant that drug companies could basically charge whatever they want for life-saving treatments people rely on, and all Americans paid the price,” White House adviser Neera Tanden told reporters in a Wednesday night call.The drug deals will become a focal point for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, especially since she cast the tie-breaking vote to pass the law. She will join President Joe Biden Thursday to announce the drug prices, their 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 U.S. Americans detained in Russia who were freed as part of a massive prisoner swap earlier this month.Powerful pharmaceutical companies unsuccessfully tried to file lawsuits to stop the negotiations, which became law in 2022, when a Democratic-controlled Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, overhauling several Medicare prescription drug regulations. But executives of those companies have also hinted in recent weeks during earnings calls that they don't expect the negotiations to impact their bottom line.The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversaw the dealmaking, is expected to release the final drug prices later Thursday. The new prices won't go into effect until 2026. Next year, the Department of Health and Human Services can select another 15 drugs for price negotiations.Before the drug prices were finalized, the Congressional Budget Office estimated the negotiations could save the federal government $25 billion in 2031.The official event comes a day before Harris is set to unveil 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.

The Biden administration is taking a victory lap after federal officials inked deals with drug companies to lower the price for 10 of Medicare’s 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 U.S. taxpayers to save $6 billion on the new prices, while older Americans could save roughly $1.5 billion on their medications. Those projections, however, were based on dated estimates and the administration shared no details as to how they arrived at the figures.

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Nonetheless, the newly negotiated prices — still elusive to the public as of early Thursday morning — will impact the price of drugs used by millions of older Americans to help manage diabetes, blood cancers and prevent heart failure or blood clots.

The drugs include the blood thinners Xarelto and Eliquis and diabetes drugs Jardiance and Januvia. Medicare spent $50 billion covering the drugs last year.

It's a landmark deal for the Medicare program, which provides health care coverage for more than 67 million older and disabled Americans. For decades, the federal government had been barred from bartering with pharmaceutical companies over the price of their drugs, even though it's a routine process for private insurers.

“This meant that drug companies could basically charge whatever they want for life-saving treatments people rely on, and all Americans paid the price,” White House adviser Neera Tanden told reporters in a Wednesday night call.

The drug deals will become a focal point for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, especially since she cast the tie-breaking vote to pass the law. She will join President Joe Biden Thursday to announce the drug prices, their 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 U.S. Americans detained in Russia who were freed as part of a massive prisoner swap earlier this month.

Powerful pharmaceutical companies unsuccessfully tried to file lawsuits to stop the negotiations, which became law in 2022, when a Democratic-controlled Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, overhauling several Medicare prescription drug regulations. But executives of those companies have also hinted in recent weeks during earnings calls that they don't expect the negotiations to impact their bottom line.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversaw the dealmaking, is expected to release the final drug prices later Thursday. The new prices won't go into effect until 2026. Next year, the Department of Health and Human Services can select another 15 drugs for price negotiations.

Before the drug prices were finalized, the Congressional Budget Office estimated the negotiations could save the federal government $25 billion in 2031.

The official event comes a day before Harris is set to unveil 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.