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“The United States has negotiated down the prices of 10 top-selling prescription drugs used by Medicare by as much as 79%, hoping to save $6 billion in the first year as part of a plan hailed on Thursday by President Joe Biden with the aim to ease anger about high prices ahead of November elections. Biden's signature Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law in 2022, was the first to allow Medicare to negotiate prices for some of the most costly drugs that the program covers for 66 million people. The new prices will go into effect in 2026.” Reuters
The left praises the negotiations, highlighting the savings for consumers.
“Among other talking points, Harris can say that while Trump promises to lower drug prices (‘We are going to deliver lower prices, low drug costs,’ he said [last] Wednesday), the Biden administration is actually doing it. The lowering of Medicare drug prices also helps Harris answer Trump’s lunge for the elderly vote by promising to eliminate taxes on Social Security. Again she can say: You promise, we deliver…
“Health care policy mustn’t be thought of as something distinct from economic policy; it pretty much is economic policy. That’s because high prices limit access to health care; because health care is the nation’s largest industry sector; and because, apart from the defense industry (which is much smaller), health care is the industry sector over which the federal government exercises the most control.”
Timothy Noah, New Republic
“Six billion dollars isn’t chump change, and that number will surely grow as more drugs are added to the list for consideration. Ozempic, the blockbuster diabetes drug, could be up for negotiation next year, for instance. But it’s also a tiny component of the roughly $250 billion part D spends on drugs. It’s an even tinier part of the $4.5 trillion that the United States spent on health care in 2022 alone…
“This milestone in Medicare’s negotiating power is a significant step, but it’s just the start. As the Harris and Trump campaigns make promises on drug pricing and health care, Americans will have to decide if these plans are enough to make a real difference in how they vote. Real change to U.S. health care spending will require much more significant intervention, though, and a serious plan that addresses more than just a limited number of drugs.”
Aaron E. Carroll, New York Times
“The administration, including Harris, can take a well-earned victory lap… Prescription drug prices are one element of a larger economic narrative for Harris. Going after businesses that take advantage of consumers appears to be one of her strongest issues, according to a detailed messaging survey of battleground voters from the Democratic polling firm Greenberg Research…
“It found that, in addition to abortion, the infrastructure plan and the prescription drug cost controls, Harris’s most popular issues include a ‘crack down on tax evasion by the wealthy and big corporations,’ instituting a 15 parent minimum tax and ‘going after greedy monopolies making super profits to lower prices and return money to consumers.’”
Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post
The right is critical of the negotiations, arguing that they are likely to hinder the development of new drugs.
The right is critical of the negotiations, arguing that they are likely to hinder the development of new drugs.
“Normally, drug makers seek to launch medicines that have multiple potential indications in the market in which they can be developed fastest—often those for small populations and rare diseases since those trials don’t have to be as large… But the IRA encourages companies to develop medicines first for larger populations to maximize revenue before they become eligible for Medicare price controls…
“The incentives are especially perverse for cancer drugs since it can take a decade before they become first-line therapies. Only then do drug makers recover their investment, but price controls may prevent them from doing so. Bristol Myers Squibb told StatNews last September the IRA prompted it to discontinue research into a first-line treatment for multiple myeloma…
“Drug makers also have less incentive to pursue studies for follow-on indications of existing medicines. While the IRA exempts orphan drugs for rare diseases from price controls, the drugs lose this dispensation if they are approved for other indications. Why spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a study if there might not be a payoff?”
Editorial Board, Washington Examiner
“Eight of the ten drugs are covered by patents that expire in 2026 or before. Only one of the ten, Imbruvica, has a patent with many years left to run, and the price reduction negotiated for that drug is the lowest percentage price drop of the group… For these ten drugs it is likely similar price reductions would have followed anyway once the relevant patents expired.”
John A. Clifford, Power Line Blog
“As a senator, Harris was one of only 17 Democrats who signed on to Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) ‘Medicare for All’ proposal, which was so radical even Biden refused to stomach it at the time. Many Democrats feared the plan would effectively eliminate private coverage. While Harris has recently flip-flopped on ‘Medicare for All,’ her inclinations are concerning…
“Reforming the drug supply chain was also a main component of the Trump administration’s healthcare agenda. In 2020, the Republican president took executive action to lower medicine costs for seniors by addressing kick-back schemes executed by middlemen. The rule would have ensured Medicare Part D recipients realize discounts already provided by drugmakers as financial savings at the pharmacy counter. But this too has been reversed by Democrats.”
Tom Price and Elaine Parker, Washington Examiner
A Shoe That Goes 65 M.P.H.
New York Times
