In a victory for affordable health care advocates, several widely used prescription drugs will soon be subject to price negotiation under Medicare, likely reducing out-of-pocket costs for millions nationwide.
But the reduced prices will not come into effect until 2026, and lawsuits from pharma companies threaten to overturn the milestone.
Still, it’s a win for the Lehigh Valley’s U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, D-7th District, who has made lowering drug prices one of her core issue.
“For way too long, we’ve been paying way too much in this country for our prescription drugs,” Wild said at a Tuesday morning news conference at the Lehigh Valley Active Life Center in Allentown.
The first 10 drugs subject to price negotiation, announced Sept. 1, are Eliquis, Jardiance, Xarelto, Januvia, Farxiga, Entresto, Enbrel, Imbruvica, Stelara and Fiasp/Novolog. These drugs are commonly used to treat ailments like diabetes, heart failure, blood cancer and psoriasis.
The reduced prices will benefit people like Sandy Niebell, a Northampton County resident who has been prescribed Eliquis and Xarelto for her cardiac issues, but struggles with a litany of drug allergies, which makes finding effective treatments difficult.
She said the blood thinner Eliquis, when it was first prescribed to her four months ago, cost $700 for a 90-day prescription. The price of her second round of medication dropped to $288 — still a steep price for many seniors on a fixed income.
“How can I afford this?” Niebell said. “These prices never should have been so high. We’re seniors, we have enough to worry about.”
The savings primarily will benefit the 65 million people enrolled in Medicare. Enrollees in the government health insurance program paid $3.4 billion out-of-pocket last year for the 10 aforementioned prescription drugs — a number that will likely be slashed thanks to price negotiations.
The United States has historically been behind countries like Canada, Mexico and many European countries that allow price negotiations and tend to have more affordable prescription drugs.
The U.S. Health and Human Services Department will begin negotiating prices with drug manufacturers in October — a process that will take until August.
The reduced prices then will not take effect until 2026, a delay that, when announced by Wild, prompted a chorus of groans from an audience of around a dozen seniors at the center.
“One of my biggest frustrations in Washington is why everything takes so damn long,” Wild said.
In February 2025, the federal government will announce another series of prescription drugs that will see a price negotiation process, with reduced prices taking effect in 2027.
Further, eight lawsuits have been filed by pharma companies challenging the Inflation Reduction Act, which authorized the price negotiation process. Wild said she is “concerned” about the lawsuits, but vowed to continue advocating for lower health care costs.
Reporter Lindsay Weber can be reached at Liweber@mcall.com.
