CMS Announces First 10 Drugs Subject to Medicare Price Negotiations Under Inflation Reduction Act, Signaling Major Step Towards Lowering Prescription Drug Costs for Medicare Beneficiaries.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on Tuesday the first 10 prescription drugs that will be subject to Medicare price negotiations under the Inflation Reduction Act. This is a major step in the Biden administration’s effort to reduce the high cost of prescription drugs for older people.

The 10 drugs on the list accounted for $50.5 billion in total spending in Medicare’s outpatient prescription drug program between June 1, 2022, and May 31, 2023. This is about one-fifth of what the program, known as Part D, spent on all prescription drugs during that period.

The Inflation Reduction Act will allow the federal government to directly negotiate prices with drug manufacturers. This is a major shift from the current system, which has been barred from negotiating drug costs.

Medicare provides health insurance coverage to 65 million people in the United States, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). This new initiative is expected to have a significant impact on the cost of prescription drugs for these individuals.

The Biden administration has made reducing the cost of prescription drugs a priority. This announcement is a major step towards achieving this goal, and is expected to have a positive impact on the cost of prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries.