Murphy Applauds Biden-Harris Announcement of Lower Prescription Drug Prices Thanks to Inflation Reduction Act

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Thursday released the following statement on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announcement that it has reached agreements with all participating manufacturers on new negotiated, lower drug prices for the first 10 drugs selected for the Medicare drug price negotiation program. The Inflation Reduction Act gave Medicare the power to negotiate for the first time in history. When the negotiated prices go into effect in 2026, seniors enrolled in Medicare Part D are estimated to save $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs.

"The Inflation Reduction Act was a historic piece of legislation designed to put money back in the pockets of patients - not Big Pharma CEOs. For the first time ever, we gave Medicare the power to negotiate prescription drug prices, and today's announcement from the Biden-Harris administration is proof of what we can accomplish when we hold greedy corporations accountable. Slashing drug costs by up to 80 percent will make a world of difference for seniors who rely on these drugs to treat everything from blood clots to heart failure to diabetes, and we're not stopping here," said Murphy.

Fifteen additional drugs covered under Medicare Part D will be up 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.

The new prices will go into effect for people with Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage in 2026:

Source: CMS, https://www.cms.gov/files/document/fact-sheet-negotiated-prices-initial-price-applicability-year-2026.pdf

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