Medicare starts a long road to cutting prices for drugs, starting with 10 costing it $50.5 billion annually – a health policy analyst explains why negotiations are promising but will take years
Americans pay far more for prescription drugs compared with people in other high-income countries. Willie B. Thomas/Digital Vision via Getty Images The Biden administration released on Aug. 29, 2023, a list of the first 10 drugs that will be up for negotiations with pharmaceutical companies over their Medicare prices. The drugs are purchased through Medicare Part D, a prescription drug coverage program for Americans ages 65 and older. The 10 medications accounted for more than US$50.5 billion in gross costs between June 1, 2022, and May 31, 2023. Provisions authorizing these negotiations were part of the Inflation Reduction Act which