Biden Administration Continues Rolling Out Savings Through Medicare Drug Price Negotiation
Washington, D.C. – Today, Protect Our Care is releasing a new video as part of Lower Prescription Drug Costs Summer. Passed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Biden administration is working to implement the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program that will finally give Medicare the authority to negotiate lower prices, making prescription drugs more affordable for millions of seniors and people with disabilities. The summer of 2023 has several key dates as part of the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program implementation:
- By early July, final guidance will be released laying out how the selection and negotiation of lower prices for prescription drugs will be done.
- August 16 is the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act.
- By September 1, the ten drugs that are selected for the first round of price negotiations will be announced.
Protect Our Care Director of Policy Programs Andrea Harris issued the following statement:
“The age of Big Pharma’s unchecked power to charge whatever they want for drugs is coming to an end. Thanks to President Biden and Congressional Democrats, Medicare can now negotiate lower prescription drug prices for seniors. By early July, the Biden Administration will begin the process of saving seniors and taxpayers billions of dollars.
“Meanwhile, Big Pharma’s greed knows no bounds as patients in America pay up to four times more for the same drugs as patients in other wealthy countries. Big Pharma is turning to the courts to try to protect their sky-high profits at the expense of patients while their GOP allies in Congress are trying to repeal and weaken the negotiation measure.”
Video Script:
Welcome to Lower Prescription Drug Costs Summer!
All thanks to President Biden and Congressional Democrats’ achievement of lowering prescription drug costs for seniors through the Inflation Reduction Act.
This major accomplishment came without a single Republican vote and despite millions of dollars in misleading advertising and lobbying from Big Pharma.
With this new law, the American people won a decades-long battle to finally allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices.
So what’s happening this summer?
Here are some key dates to keep in mind as the Biden-Harris administration rolls out the new drug law:
- By early July, the administration will release final guidance laying out the rules of the road for selecting and negotiating lower prices for prescription drugs.
- August 16 marks the one-year anniversary of the enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act.
- And by September 1, the administration will announce which ten drugs are selected for the first round of price negotiations. These will likely be drugs used by millions of seniors to treat conditions like blood clots, type 2 diabetes, arthritis, and cancer.
With Medicare negotiation for prescription drug prices, the era of Big Pharma being in the driver’s seat is coming to an end.
This progress is particularly important for seniors of color and people with disabilities, who experience health disparities in part because they have more limited access to affordable drugs.
The new prescription drug law is overwhelmingly popular, yet the pharmaceutical industry is suing to stop it and Republicans in Congress are vowing to repeal it.
But President Biden and Democrats in Congress are more committed than ever to lowering the cost of prescription drugs for all Americans — and that’s why the work we do this summer is so important.
Let’s keep up the momentum so that ALL Americans can afford their medications.
The time to act is now.