President Joe Biden is celebrating a new phase of his administration’s efforts to lower medical costs. Officials on Tuesday announced the first 10 drugs that would be targeted for Medicare price negotiations. The popular diabetes treatment Jardiance and the blood thinner Eliquis are on the list. Biden says “we’re going to keep standing up to Big Pharma and we’re not going to back down.” The Democratic president’s move faces litigation from drugmakers and criticism from Republican lawmakers. A pharmaceutical lobbying group says the list stems from “a rushed process focused on short-term political gain rather than what is best for patients.”
By CHRIS MEGERIAN, TOM MURPHY and AMANDA SEITZ (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON President Joe Biden, struggling to convince Americans that he’s improved their lives as he runs for reelection, hailed his administration’s Tuesday announcement that several drugs would be targeted for Medicare’s first-ever price negotiations.
The drugs include the blood thinner Eliquis, diabetes treatment Jardiance and eight other medications. The negotiation process was authorized under the Inflation Reduction Act, which Biden signed last year, capping decades of debate over whether the federal government should be allowed to haggle with pharmaceutical companies.
Any lower prices won’t take effect for three years, and the path forward could be further complicated by litigation from drugmakers and heavy criticism from Republicans.
But the effort is a centerpiece of Biden’s reelection pitch as the Democrat tries to show Americans he’s deserving of a second term because of the work he’s doing to lower costs while the country is struggling with inflation. The drug negotiations, like many of Biden’s biggest policy moves, will take time to play out, and his challenge is to persuade the public to be patient.
“For all of you out there, I get it, and millions of Americans get it,” Biden said at the White House. “I promise you. I’m going to have your back and I’ll never stop fighting for you on this issue.”
He noted that he got “no help from the other team” — meaning Republicans — when it came to lowering prescription costs.
The drugs on the list announced Tuesday accounted for $3.4 billion in out-of-pocket costs for Medicare patients last year.
The Medicare program paid more than $50 billion for the drugs between June 1, 2022, and May 31, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS.
