President Joe Biden said Wednesday that Medicare should negotiate higher prices for at least 50 prescription drugs each year than the president’s current goal.
“Medicare should not be limited to negotiating just 20 drugs a year,” the White House said. fact sheet The announcement was made ahead of Biden’s previously reported State of the Union address on Thursday. CNBC.
“The President is proposing to allow Medicare to negotiate prices on key drugs that older adults rely on, including those used to treat heart disease, cancer, and diabetes,” the fact sheet added.
According to CNBC, the initiative is an extension of a portion of the Inflation Control Act that provides financial assistance to more than 65 million Americans enrolled in Medicare, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). It is said that there is.
Biden, who has been criticized in opinion polls for his dissatisfaction with the state of the U.S. economy, has made lowering U.S. drug prices a key pillar of his re-election campaign ahead of Election Day in November.
The effort began in August 2022, when he first signed into law the Control Inflation Act, which capped out-of-pocket prescription drug costs at $2,000 and lowered health insurance premiums for Medicare recipients.
The White House said the measure would “reduce federal spending by $200 billion, increase the number of drugs Medicare can choose from for negotiation, bring more drugs into the negotiation process sooner, and other reforms.” ” he said.
According to CMSthe law also imposes rebates on drug companies that raise prices faster than the rate of inflation.
These parts of the Inflation Control Act were enacted for Medicare enrollees, most of whom are 65 and older, but Biden’s new proposal to increase the number of drug prices that can be negotiated annually is subject to tough calls from the pharmaceutical industry. likely to be exposed to public scrutiny. .
The Biden administration is already engaged in intense legal battles with several drug companies over this potential move, according to CNBC.
The president recently was awarded an early victory in a lawsuit by pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca challenging Medicare’s new authority to negotiate with manufacturers on some expensive prescription drugs.
Merck, Johnson & Johnson, and Bristol-Myers Squibb have also filed objections to the price negotiations, and decisions related to those lawsuits are expected next year, CNBC reported.
If the case is ruled in favor of the Biden administration, the case could eventually reach the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, CMS has already begun the negotiation process.
According to CNBC, the company last fall decided on 10 drugs to be subject to price negotiations with Medicare, including AstraZeneca’s Faxiga. Faxiga is the company’s top-selling drug and is used to treat type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease and heart failure.
Negotiations for these drugs will conclude this fall, and new prices will take effect in 2026.
After initial discussions, Medicare could negotiate prices for 15 more drugs, which would go into effect in 2027, according to CNBC.
In 2028, 15 more medicines will have new prices.
Under the current structure, the number of drugs covered in each round of consultations will increase to 20 a year starting in 2029, but Biden wants to gradually increase that number to 50 within five years. .
Biden has said he wants to increase the number of prescriptions subject to price negotiations, but Wednesday is the first time the Biden administration has specified a higher target number, according to CNBC.
