Pallone: Over 1.3 Million New Jersey Medicare Enrollees Will Benefit from First-Ever Prescription Drug Negotiations

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), the top Democrat on the House Energy & Commerce Committee, today praised the Biden-Harris Administration's successful negotiation of Medicare prescription drug prices for the first time in the program's history-a direct result of the Inflation Reduction Act. This groundbreaking move will have a significant impact on New Jersey seniors, ensuring more affordable access to essential medications and demonstrating the Administration's commitment to lowering health care costs for all Americans.

"This is a historic day for New Jersey and the nation. After more than two decades of fighting, we have finally empowered Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices for our seniors,"said Pallone, who helped to write the historic Inflation Reduction Act."This milestone is especially meaningful for New Jersey, where many seniors rely on Medicare for their life-saving medications."

The Inflation Reduction Act, President Biden's lower-cost prescription drug law, contains policies that will significantly lower prescription drug costs for seniors and people with disabilities across New Jersey:

• Caps costs for covered insulin at $35 per month for people with Medicare.
• Makes recommended vaccines available at no cost for people with Medicare Part D.
• Enables Medicare to negotiate prices for certain prescription drugs.
• Requires drug companies to pay a rebate to Medicare if they raise prices faster than the rate of inflation.

In January 2024, two new cost-saving Medicare Part D benefits went into effect:

• The Extra Help program is expanding to provide more benefits for qualifying enrollees with limited income and assets.
• Some enrollees now have their out-of-pocket drug costs capped at about $3,500 in 2024, and in 2025, out-of-pocket costs will be lowered even more with a $2,000 cap.

Inflation Reduction Act Impact: New Jersey by the Numbers

• Approximately 40,000 Medicare enrollees in New Jersey who use insulin could have an average savings of $511 per year.
• Over 1.3 million Medicare Part D enrollees in New Jersey can receive free recommended preventive vaccines.
• More than $101 million in expected savings for approximately 353,000 Medicare Part D enrollees in New Jersey, thanks to 2024 policies limiting Part D out-of-pocket costs.
• More than 260,000 Medicare enrollees in New Jersey take drugs selected for negotiation, including:
  • Over 137,000 who take Eliquis or Xarelto, cardiovascular drugs to prevent blood clots.
  • Over 89,000 who take Type 2 Diabetes medications like Jardiance, Januvia, or Farxiga.
  • Over 15,000 who take Entresto to treat heart failure or other cardiovascular conditions.

The savings are substantial, with Americans expected to save $1.5 billion in the first year alone. "This is just the beginning," Pallone continued. "Medicare will now be able to negotiate lower prices on more drugs each year, providing ongoing savings for New Jersey seniors and families. This is a gamechanger that will help protect the hard-earned money of our residents for years to come."

Pallone also underscored the importance of defending this progress against Republican efforts to repeal it. "While Republicans want to roll back these achievements and let Big Pharma raise prices again, Democrats are committed to building on this success. We're not stopping here. Our goal is to ensure Medicare can negotiate fair prices for more drugs each year and to extend these lower prices to everyone-not just seniors."

Last year, Pallone introduced the Lowering Drug Costs for American Families Act, which would extend the Medicare drug price negotiation program to all Americans with private health insurance and increase the number of drugs being negotiated from 20 to 50 annually.

As a key architect of the Inflation Reduction Act, Pallone was the lead sponsor of H.R.3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, which first passed the House in December 2019. This legislation laid the groundwork for the Medicare drug price negotiation framework that was signed into law as part of the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022.

"This victory is a testament to our commitment to making healthcare more affordable for New Jersey families. We'll continue to fight to ensure that everyone in our state can benefit from lower prescription drug prices,"Pallone concluded.

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