LAS VEGAS, NV – Today, President Joe Biden’s administration announced the first ten drugs in Part D that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have selected for lower prices through Medicare negotiations. This historic move forward will allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices for the first time ever, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. This historic development in the fight to lower drug costs comes after the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act last year and will impact over 500,000 Nevadans who are on Medicare, including Nevadan Teddie Lynn Brewer, who previously fell into the “donut hole” while on Medicare.
Shelbie Swartz, Interim Executive Director of Battle Born Progress, issued the following statement:
“Today represents another major milestone in what has been a long journey toward finally making medicines affordable for millions of people in Medicare. President Biden and Democrats in Congress kept their promises to lower health costs last year by passing this historic reform that will finally enable Medicare to negotiate prices on the most expensive medicines in Part D including Xarelto, Eliquis, Januvia, Jardiance, and Xtandi. Once implemented, 5 to 7 million more Medicare patients will save money on treating everything from diabetes to cancer and taxpayers can expect to save over $98 billion over the next decade.”
“That means people like our team member Lisa Lynn Chapman’s mother, Teddie Lynn Brewer, will no longer be forced to pay exorbitant prices simply to stay healthy and can finally have some hope that the medicine they need will be affordable rather than having to skip doses, ration the medicine or go into debt to buy prescriptions.”
“Selecting these drugs is just the first step. Now, CMS will have to move forward aggressively to negotiate with the drug corporations in order to arrive at fair prices that patients can afford. Rather than fight the new law with frivolous lawsuits, the drug corporations should cooperate. Johnson & Johnson (Jansen), Bristol Myers Squibb, Merck and Eli Lilly/Boehringer Ingelheim, and Pfizer/Astellas have made billions from patients already. Negotiations will lower prices and still allow them to make a profit but without the relentless price-gouging that hurts patients and Medicare.”
“I am on Medicare and on Elquis,” said Teddie Lynn Brewer. “When on Medicare, after your prescription costs reach over $4,600, you must pay 25 percent of the cost until you reach $7,400 in costs. I am currently in this coverage gap and had to pay over $400 for my prescription this week. These negotiated costs will definitely help everyone on Medicare.”
ABOUT MEDICARE PRICE NEGOTIATIONS: Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, for the first time ever, Medicare will be able to negotiate prices on some of the most expensive and most commonly used medicines covered under their plans. The drugs selected for negotiations are:
1. Eliquis, for preventing strokes and blood clots, from Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer
2. Jardiance, for diabetes and heart failure, from Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly
3. Xarelto, for preventing strokes and blood clots, from Johnson & Johnson
4. Januvia, for diabetes, from Merck
5. Farxiga, for chronic kidney disease, from AstraZeneca
6. Entresto, for heart failure, from Novartis
7. Enbrel, for arthritis and other autoimmune conditions, from Amgen
8. Imbruvica, for blood cancers, from Abbie and Johnson & Johnson
9. Stelara, for Crohn’s disease, from Johnson & Johnson
10. Fiasp and NovoLog insulin products, for diabetes, from Novo Nordisk
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About Battle Born Progress: Battle Born Progress, through strategic communication efforts, empowers, engages and mobilizes Nevada voters to build a state where everyone has a fair opportunity to succeed. We support, engage, and mobilize the progressive community through bold leadership, strategic communications, accountability, and education. We are on the cutting edge of new media and are the go-to source for progressive issues and advocacy for traditional media. Learn more at https://battlebornprogress.org/.
