Biden, Harris Appear Together in Maryland, Tout Efforts to Reduce Drug Prices 👉 Updatem News

The leaders appeared together for the first time since Biden withdrew from the presidential race and endorsed Harris.

LARGO, Md.—President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris held an event in Maryland on Aug. 15 to discuss the progress made in lowering the costs of prescription drugs.

Both spoke at the gathering held at Prince George’s County Community College, the first event since Biden withdrew from the presidential race and endorsed Harris on July 21.

“We pay more for prescription drugs than any advanced nation in the world,” Biden said during his speech.

He criticized the pharmaceutical industry for spending $400 million last year on lobbying Congress to stop this program.

“This time, we finally beat Big Pharma,” he said.

On Aug. 15, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that it had reached an agreement with drug companies to lower prices for 10 of the most expensive prescription drugs covered under Medicare.

New prices, set to take effect in 2026, are expected to save seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs in the first year of the program, according to the White House.

“Two years ago, we gave Medicare the power to negotiate lower prescription drug prices for the first time in history,” Harris said during her speech, referring to the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law in August 2022.

“Medicare has collective bargaining power, and now Medicare can use that power to go toe to toe with Big Pharma,” she said.

The drugs treat diseases such as heart failure, blood clots, diabetes, arthritis, and Crohn’s disease. Under the program, Medicare is expected to save $6 billion in the first year.

This is the first round of drug price negotiation, Biden said in a statement earlier, calling it “a relief for American taxpayers.”

The selected drugs—which include blood thinners such as Eliquis and Xarelto, diabetes medications such as Jardiance and Januvia, and treatments for heart failure and autoimmune diseases—accounted for $56.2 billion in Medicare spending in 2023 alone, according to a fact sheet by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Nearly 9 million of the 54 million people with Medicare Part D coverage were dispensed the 10 drugs that are the subject of the price reductions.

“Every American should be able to access the health care they need no matter their income or wealth,” Harris said in a statement, adding that additional prescription drugs will be selected each year as part of the program.

“This includes up to 15 additional drugs covered under Medicare Part D for negotiation in 2025, up to an additional 15 Part B and Part D drugs in 2026, and up to 20 drugs every year after that,” she added.

The new prices on the 10 drugs will go into effect in 2026 for people with Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage. The medications affected are:

Eliquis, a Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer blood thinner, negotiated from $521 to $231 (down 56 percent).
Xarelto, a Johnson & Johnson blood thinner, negotiated from $517 to $197 (down 62 percent).
Januvia, a Merck diabetes drug, negotiated from $527 to $113 (down 79 percent).
Jardiance, a Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly diabetes drug, negotiated from $573 to $197 (down 66 percent).
Enbrel, an Amgen rheumatoid arthritis drug, negotiated from $7,106 to $2,355 (down 67 percent).
Imbruvica, an AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson cancer drug, negotiated from $14,934 to $9,319 (down 38 percent).
Farxiga, an AstraZeneca drug for diabetes, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease, negotiated from $556 to $178 (down 68 percent).
Entresto, a Novartis heart failure drug, negotiated from $628 to $295 (down 53 percent).
Stelara, a Johnson & Johson Crohn’s disease and psoriasis drug, negotiated from $13,836 to $4,695 (down 66 percent).
Fiasp and NovoLog, a Novo Nordisk diabetes drug, negotiated from $495 to $119 (down 76 percent).

The 10 drugs are among the most costliest for those on Medicare Part D. The compared prices are from 2023.

Last year, the Biden administration worked to cap insulin at $35 per month for millions of Medicare Part D enrollees. It also launched a Savings Explorer website to tout administration efforts to lower the costs of health care, groceries, utilities, and other daily economic impacts.

Harris is widely expected to call on Congress on Friday during a speech in North Carolina to pass a federal ban on price gouging as part of her economic plan to lower costs, including grocery bills.

Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.

Original News Source Link – Epoch Times

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