Headline Roundup • August 29th, 2023
HHS Reveals First 10 Drugs for Medicare Price Setting
Summary from the AllSides News Team
On Tuesday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the first ten drugs that will be subject to Medicare price negotiation, as authorized under the Inflation Reduction Act.
Key Details: The ten drugs include: Eliquis; Jardiance; Xarelto; Januvia; Farxiga; Entresto; Enbrel; Imbruvica; Stelara; and Fiasp. The negotiations will take place over 2023 and 2024. Additional drugs from the doctor-administered Part B program and Medicare Part D will be selected in upcoming years.
Key Quote: “For far too long, Americans have paid more for prescription drugs than any major economy. And while the pharmaceutical industry makes record profits, millions of Americans are forced to choose between paying for medications they need to live or paying for food, rent and other basic necessities,” President Joe Biden said. “Those days are ending.”
For Context: The drugs were chosen based on their eligibility under the Inflation Reduction Act. They are the "highest total Part D gross covered prescription drug costs" under Medicare Part D, and account for $50.5 billion in Part D costs.
How the Media Covered it: Some right-rated outlets noted that the initial list of drugs could spark debate over possible exclusions. Some left-rated sources suggested the drug industry and its allies may find a way to block price-setting negotiations.
Featured Coverage of this Story
AP
The Biden administration on Tuesday selected 10 drugs that will be part of a historic first round of price negotiation through Medicare, including the blood thinner Xarelto and Type-2 diabetes drugs Jardiance and Januvia.
Other drugs on the list treat conditions such as arthritis, heart disease, cancer and autoimmune diseases.
The announcement from the Department of Health and Human Services was a watershed moment in Democrats’ long-running push to flex government purchasing power and force down what companies charge the federal insurance program for more than 65 million seniors.
Democrats in...
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) early Tuesday announced the first 10 drugs chosen for Medicare price negotiation under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
These single-source drugs were chosen based on their eligibility under the IRA and are the “highest total Part D gross covered prescription drug costs” under Medicare Part D, according to the CMS. In total, these medications account for $50.5 billion in total gross Part D costs.
Negotiations over these drugs, if manufacturers agree to the process, will take place over 2023 and 2024. Drugmakers have until...
The federal government just identified the first 10 medications that will be subject to direct price negotiations with manufacturers, as part of a major new initiative to reduce prescription drug costs in Medicare.
The list includes a pair of widely used blood thinners, Eliquis and Xarelto, as well as the cancer therapy Imbruvica. It also includes Farxiga, Jardiance and Januvia, all of which treat diabetes.
All told, the 10 drugs on the list accounted for $50.5 billion in total spending in Medicare’s outpatient prescription drug program for the period between June 1, 2022, and May 31, 2023, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. That’s...
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