ICYMI: The Biden-Harris Administration Takes Major Step Forward in Lowering Health Care Costs for Seniors and Families

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration announced that the manufacturers of all ten drugs selected for negotiation have decided to participate in the Inflation Reduction Act's Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program – another major step in President Biden's fight to lower health care costs for seniors and families.

This announcement builds on the actions President Biden has already taken to lower health care costs – including capping the cost of insulin at $35 for seniors, making recommended vaccines free for Medicare and Medicaid enrollees, and saving 15 million Americans $800 per year on health insurance premiums. President Biden and his Administration will continue fighting to lower health care costs for seniors and families – so every American has access to affordable, lifesaving care – even as Republicans in Congress continue to try to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act and oppose the cost-saving measures that are already benefitting millions of their own constituents.

See coverage below:

ABC News: All 10 drugs targeted for Medicare price negotiations will participate: White House
[Will Weissert, 10/2/2023]

President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that the manufacturers of all of the first 10 prescription drugs selected for Medicare's first price negotiations have agreed to participate, clearing the way for talks that could lower their costs in coming years. In announcing that price negotiations will go forward, Biden noted that the program was created under the Inflation Reduction Act, which Congress passed last year without any Republican support, and that major pharmaceutical companies have continued to work to stop Medicare from haggling over drug pricing.

Reuters: Drugmakers sign on to negotiate Medicare prices under protest
[Michael Erman and Patrick Wingrove, 10/2/2023]

All the drugmakers that make the 10 prescription medicines subject to the first-ever price negotiations for the U.S. Medicare health program, including Amgen (AMGN.O) and Novartis (NOVN.S), said they signed on to participate in the talks by the Oct. 1 deadline. The new prices, which will be required to be at least 25% lower than their current list, would take effect in 2026. The program aims to save $25 billion per year on drug prices by 2031. The companies will have a chance to meet with CMS later this autumn and the regulator will send them a proposal for its "maximum fair price" for the drugs by Feb. 1, 2024.

NBC News: Drugmakers agree to negotiate drug prices with government, White House says
The manufacturers of 10 prescription drugs — including Eliquis, Xarelto and Januvia — will take part in the negotiations.
[Berkeley Lovelace Jr., 10/3/23]

Major drug companies including Johnson & Johnson, Merck and Bristol Myers Squibb have committed to participate in Medicare drug price negotiations with the federal government, the Biden administration said Tuesday. […]

They include Eliquis and Xarelto, two blood thinners; Januvia, a diabetes drug; and Enbrel, for rheumatoid arthritis. Last year, about 9 million Medicare enrollees spent $3.4 billion out of pocket on the 10 selected drugs, according to the administration.

Associated Press: All 10 drugs targeted for Medicare price negotiations will participate, the White House says
[Will Weissert, 10/3/23]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration said Tuesday that the manufacturers of all of the first 10 prescription drugs it selected for Medicare's first price negotiations have agreed to participate, clearing the way for talks that could lower their costs in coming years […]

The drugs include the blood thinner Eliquis, which the White House said was used by more than 3.7 million Medicare enrollees from June of last year through this past May and had an average out-of-pocket cost of $608 per enrollee for 2022. Also included is diabetes treatment Jardiance, which was used by nearly 1.6 million Medicare enrollees and had a 2022 out-of-pocket cost per enrollee of $490.

In all last year, 9 million seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries paid more than $3.4 billion on these 10 drugs alone, the White House said.

CNN: Drugmakers agree to negotiate prices in Medicare even as they sue to stop the program
[Tami Luhby, 10/3/23]

The manufacturers of the 10 initial drugs chosen for Medicare's price negotiation program have agreed to participate in the historic initiative, the Biden administration said Tuesday.

However, they are not giving up their efforts to overturn the program in court, even after the industry lost its first legal battle on Friday.

The drugmakers – which include Bristol Myers Squibb, Merck, Johnson & Johnson's Janssen division, Novo Nordisk and AstraZeneca, among others – will now spend months in talks with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to determine maximum fair prices for their products.

CNBC: Drugmakers opt in to Medicare drug price negotiations – here's what happens next
[Annika Constantino, 10/2/23]

All drugmakers of the first 10 medicines selected for Medicare drug price negotiations have agreed to participate in the talks, even after many of them sued to halt the process last month.

The companies confirmed their participation in separate statements to CNBC. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services did not immediately respond to a request to confirm that all drugmakers agreed to the talks.

President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, which passed last year, empowered Medicare to negotiate drug prices for the first time in the program's six-decade history. The lengthy negotiation process won't end until August 2024, with reduced prices going into effect in January 2026.

The Messenger: Manufacturers of 10 Drugs Selected for Medicare Price Negotiation Sign Agreements to Join Program
[Nicole Gaudiano, 10/3/2023]

Manufacturers of 10 drugs selected for Medicare price negotiation have signed agreements to participate in the program under a federal law aimed at lowering prescription drug costs, the White House announced on Tuesday. Prices negotiated for the first set of drugs participating in the program will take effect in 2026, the White House says. Medicare will negotiate prices for up to 60 drugs covered under Medicare Part D and Part B over the next four years, and up to an additional 20 drugs every year after that.

Barron's: Big Pharma Can't Stop the Price-Negotiation Program. What's Next.
[Josh Nathan-Kazis, 10/2/2023]

The pharmaceutical industry just missed its best shot at halting the federal government plan to let Medicare to pay less for a few expensive medicines, dimming hopes that the drug companies might find a way to maintain the higher prices. […] Though the lower prices aren't set to go into effect until 2026, manufacturers of the first ten drugs to have their prices lowered had until this past Sunday to officially agree to participate in the negotiations.

Bloomberg Law: All Drugmakers Enter Medicare Drug Price Talks Amid Lawsuits
[Nyah Phengsitthy and Celine Castronuovo, 10/3/2023]

The latest drugmakers to say yes include Johnson & Johnson, Novartis AG, and Amgen Inc. Other manufacturers include Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., AstraZeneca Plc, and Boehringer Ingelheim, among others who have announced publicly that they will enter the Medicare negotiation program put in place by the Inflation Reduction Act. […]

By the end of the day Monday, drugmakers subject to the first round of negotiations must submit manufacturer-specific data to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to help the agency make an initial offer on a product's maximum fair price. […]

The CMS next will host a series of patient-focused listening sessions beginning Oct. 30 on the 10 selected drugs. The sessions are meant to provide patients, beneficiaries, caregivers, consumer and patient organizations, and other interested parties the chance to share input relevant to drugs selected for the first cycle of negotiations.

The Hill: Drug companies agree to participate in Biden Medicare price negotiation program
[Nathaniel Weixel, 10/3/23]

All 10 manufacturers of the first drugs selected for Medicare price negotiations will be participating, the White House said Tuesaday, even as many of them are currently suing the administration in an effort to halt the process. […]

Last year, about 9 million Medicare enrollees spent $3.4 billion out of pocket on the selected drugs from companies including Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca, the White House said.

"For decades, Big Pharma fought to block Medicare from directly negotiating lower drug prices for seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries," the White House said. "President Biden and Congressional Democrats finally beat Big Pharma and allowed Medicare to directly negotiate lower drug prices by passing the Inflation Reduction Act."

UPI: 10 U.S. drugmakers agree to participate in price negotiations with Medicare
[A.L. Lee, 10/3/2023]

Ten U.S. drug manufacturers have agreed to participate in the initial round of the first-ever pricing negotiations between Medicare and the nation's pharmaceutical giants, the Biden administration announced Tuesday. […]

The move comes as President Joe Biden seeks to fulfill a campaign promise to make prescription medicines more affordable for millions of aging Americans.

Express Healthcare Management: The Biden Administration Announces Major Drug Companies Will Participate in Medicare Price Negotiations
[Jaishankar Chigurula, 10/3/2023]

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently identified the first 10 prescription drugs that will be subject to price negotiations under the Inflation Reduction Act. These drugs include Eliquis and Xarelto for blood thinning, Januvia for diabetes, and Enbrel for rheumatoid arthritis. According to the administration, approximately 9 million Medicare enrollees spent $3.4 billion out of pocket on these selected drugs last year. […]

The negotiations with pharmaceutical companies will begin next year, and the negotiated prices will be in effect starting in 2026. Over time, more drugs will be added to the list for negotiation. […]

Overall, the participation of major drug companies in Medicare price negotiations is expected to be a crucial step in addressing the high cost of prescription drugs for older Americans. It remains to be seen how the negotiations will unfold and what impact they will have on drug prices, but this is an important move towards making healthcare more affordable for Medicare recipients.