Medicare announces lower prices on 10 common drugs: What’s included and what they will cost
Drugmakers are lowering prices of 10 of the costliest drugs under Medicare, the agency announced last week.
The changes are part of the government’s first-ever negotiations aimed at lowering the price of some of the most expensive and most frequently dispensed drugs under the Medicare program. The medications are used to treat conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
If the new prices had been in effect last year, Medicare would have saved some $6 billion, or about 22 percent, across the 10 drugs. People with Medicare – 9 million of whom use at least one of the drugs and often pay a percentage of the costs – are expected to see an aggregated estimated savings of $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs once the changes go into effect.
The savings won’t be seen immediately, however. The new prices won’t go into effect for people with Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage until Jan. 1, 2026. After that, negotiations for 15 other drugs will start with any changes taking place in 2027. More drugs will added each year, the agency said.
Prices for the following drugs will be lowered:
- Eliquis, a blood thinner from Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizerm, new price $231, down from $521
- Enbrel, a rheumatoid arthritis drug from Amgen, new price $2,355 negotiated price, down from $7,106
- Entresto, a heart failure drug from Novartis, new price $295 negotiated price, down from $628
- Farxiga, a drug for diabetes, heart failure and chronic kidney disease from AstraZeneca, new price $178, down from $556
- Fiasp and NovoLog, diabetes drugs from Novo Nordisk, new price $119, down from $495
- Imbruvica, a drug for blood cancers from AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson, new price $9,319, down from $14,934
- Januvia, a diabetes drug from Merck, new price $113, down from $527
- Jardiance, a diabetes drug from Eli Lily and Boehringer Ingelheim, new price $197, down from $573
- Stelara, a drug for psoriasis and Crohn’s disease from J&J, new price $4,695 negotiated price, down from $13,836
- Xarelto, a blood thinner from Johnson & Johnson, new price $197, down from $517
The new costs do not represent a direct comparison between the negotiated prices and what Medicare and enrollees would have originally paid, NBC reported. The list price is the full price of a medication and doesn’t include rebates or discounts a drug company offers.
More than 65 million people in the U.S. have health insurance coverage through Medicare.