U.S. to Announce Prices for First Drugs Picked for Medicare Negotiations

The Biden administration is set to announce on Thursday the results of landmark price negotiations between Medicare and the pharmaceutical companies over the prices of 10 costly or common medications taken by millions of older Americans.

Had the new prices been in effect last year, Medicare would have saved $6 billion, administration officials said in a Wednesday news briefing previewing the announcement.

The prices of the drugs, which include widely used blood thinners and arthritis medications, are to be released later Thursday morning, and will take effect in 2026. They represent the first time that the federal government has directly negotiated with drugmakers on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries, and will reshape the federal government’s role in a program that covers tens of millions of older and disabled Americans.

“It’s a relief for the millions of seniors that take these drugs to treat everything from heart failure, blood clots, diabetes, arthritis, Crohn’s disease and more,” President Biden said in a statement. “And it’s a relief for American taxpayers.”

Medicare’s Part D program covers most of the costs of prescription drugs that seniors take at home. Approximately nine million Part D beneficiaries took at least one of the first 10 medications subject to negotiations in 2022, according to federal estimates. Some will see direct savings at the pharmacy counter as a result of the negotiation program.

The prices the Biden administration is set to announce were made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act, a 2022 climate, health and tax bill signed by Mr. Biden that granted the health and human services secretary the authority to negotiate on behalf of Medicare.