Biden: Medicare has negotiated discounts on 10 prescription drugs
President Joe Biden announced that Medicare had negotiated rebates for ten drugs prescribed to treat blood clots, cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
Ten commonly prescribed and expensive drugs taken by millions of Medicare Americans to treat blood clots, cancer, heart disease and diabetes will become significantly cheaper, according to an announcement by the Biden administration on Thursday.
List prices for drugs such as Xarelto, Eliquis and Jardiance will be reduced by 38 to 79 percent, representing savings of hundreds or even thousands of dollars on 30-day supplies when the negotiated prices take effect in 2026.
“I’ve waited a very, very long time for this moment,” President Joe Biden said Thursday in his first political appearance with Vice President Kamala Harris since leaving the presidential campaign. “We pay more for prescription drugs, and this is no exaggeration, than any other advanced country in the world.”
Here’s what Arizona residents need to know about the change and how it will affect prescription drug prices.
Which prescription drugs will have their price reduced?
Here are the drugs whose prices are scheduled to be reduced in 2026 and the percentage decrease for a 30-day supply:
What impact will new prescription drug prices have on Arizona?
According to health policy research site KFF, more than 1.1 million Arizona residents were enrolled in Medicare Part D in 2023, including 1.4 million in a stand-alone drug plan and 2.6 million in the Medicare Advantage drug plan. KFF reports that 1.16 million Arizona residents — 16.2% of residents — were enrolled in Medicare in 2022.
The new prices will take effect January 1, 2026. Please note that these list prices may not be what you pay. Discounts, deductibles and copayments will affect the final prices.
Over the next two years, starting in 2027 and 2028, another 30 drugs will be selected at negotiated prices.
Why do prescription drug prices change?
The announcement of the price changes comes after lengthy negotiations with pharmaceutical companies,
Negotiations with the pharmaceutical companies dragged on for months after CMS selected 10 high-priced, single-source drugs for which there were no generics or competing products to renegotiate under Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services estimates that 8.8 million of the 54 million Americans with Medicare Part D take drugs such as Xarelto, Eliquis and Jardiance to treat blood clots, cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
According to the Biden administration, people covered by Medicare prescription drugs could save an estimated $1.5 billion, and taxpayers could save $6 billion.
