Medicare announced Friday that it has selected 15 drugs, including extremely popular ones ozempic and vegoviUsed for diabetes and weight lossAs well as some blockbuster cancer drugs and other medicines, for another round of price negotiations.
together with first 10 medicines The goal the Biden administration set last year for its Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program is for prescription drugs to account for one-third of spending in the government insurance program for seniors.
In this second round of talks the prices have been negotiated Hope Medicines to become effective in 2027 announced Friday by the Biden administration are:
- Novo Nordisk's Ozempic; Ribelsus; wegovy
- GSK's Trelogy Ellipta
- Astellas and Pfizer's Xtandi
- Bristol-Myers Squibb's Pomalyst
- Pfizer's Ibrance
- Ofev of Boehringer Ingelheim
- Linzes of AbbVie and Ironwood
- AstraZeneca's Calquence
- Teva's Austedo; Austedo XR
- GSK's Brio Ellipta
- Tradegenta of Boehringer Ingelheim
- xifaxan of salix
- AbbVie's Wreller
- Merck's Janumet; Janumet XR
- Amgen's Otezla
under the program at this timeDrug makers have until Feb. 28 to decide whether to participate in negotiations or face steeper taxes if they want to remain covered by Medicare and Medicaid.
About 2.3 million seniors covered in Medicare are using semaglutide drugs, branded as Ozempic, Rybelsus and Vegovy. Novo NordiskMedicare says the drug raised more than $14 billion under the program last year, the most of any drug during this period.
The next most expensive was GSK's asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease drug Trelegy Ellipta, which was valued at about $5.1 billion. About 1.25 million senior citizens are using that medicine.
The White House says the first round of negotiations resulted in the price of some of the most commonly used drugs being reduced in Medicare by about 40% to 80% compared to their list price, however. Researchers estimate Actual savings for many drugs were much smaller. These reduced prices will be applicable from next year.
President Biden has promoted the programproduced by Inflation Reduction Act He signed into law in 2022, as one of the important achievements of his tenure.
“The Inflation Reduction Act puts the country on a path to lower drug prices. I am proud to introduce this legislation to deliver lower prices for America's seniors,” he said in a statement.
Drug manufacturers have asked the court to stop this process. industry group And republican Termed the “price-fixing scheme” as unfair and discouraging innovation.
A new round of talks has come to the Biden administration also proposed Expanding Medicare coverage weight loss drugsWhich was banned earlier. It will be up to the incoming Trump administration to finalize the move or not.
Can Trump change or stop this process?
It is not clear whether President-elect Donald Trump will want to change the drugs selected after taking office or end the negotiations. But campaign trailHe often vowed not to make Medicare cuts after democrat sought to tie it to one “Project 2025” Proposal To undo the program.
A spokesman for the president-elect did not respond to a request for comment.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, a senior Biden administration official said the process of selecting drugs for the negotiated program was hindered by a law passed by Congress.
That law essentially requires Medicare to create a list of drugs eligible for the program, and then select the 15 highest-cost drugs from Part D.
He acknowledged that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services had made “very minor decisions” in their guidance about how and when drug negotiations would occur, but that they would not allow major changes to it. drugs Were elected.
The official said, “That process, again, is clearly defined in the statute. There is no ability for any policy officer to say I prefer this drug over that drug. The entire process is based on these data.” is based.”
Which drugs were selected for the first round?
Biden Administration Announces 10 Drugs Selected for the First Round of the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program in August 2023and reached an agreement in August 2024,
The negotiated prices will take effect in 2026. Those medicines are:
- Merck Sharp Dohme's Januvia
- Novo Nordisk's Fiasp and Novolog
- AstraZeneca's Farxiga
- Immunex's Enbrel
- Boehringer Ingelheim's Jardiance
- Janssen's Stelara
- Janssen's Xarelto
- Bristol Meyers Squibb's Eliquis
- Novartis's Entresto
- Pharmacyclics' Imbruvica
Chief Ministers estimated The savings he negotiated last year from the program would save about $1.5 billion for beneficiaries and $6 billion for the Medicare program.