Medicare's $41 Billion Drug Price Negotiation: 15 Drugs in the Spotlight

The Biden administration has announced the next 15 prescription drugs that will undergo price negotiations with Medicare. This initiative, part of the Inflation Reduction Act, aims to reduce costs for seniors. The list includes Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic, Wegovy, and Rybelsus, which are grouped as one product due to their shared active ingredient, semaglutide. These drugs alone cost Medicare Part D $14.43 billion, with nearly 2.3 million enrollees using them. Other notable drugs on the list include Trelegy Ellipta, costing $5.14 billion for 1.3 million enrollees, and Xtandi, which cost $3.16 billion despite only 35,000 users. The total cost for these 15 drugs was approximately $41 billion, representing 14% of Part D’s prescription drug costs. The negotiations are set to conclude by November, with new prices effective in 2027. This follows the first round of negotiations, which are expected to save Medicare enrollees around $1.5 billion in 2026.

Source: www.cnbc.com