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WASHINGTON — Taxpayers are expected to save billions of dollars after the Biden administration signed deals with pharmaceutical companies to knock down the lists prices for 10 of Medicare’s costliest drugs.
But how much older Americans can expect to save when they fill a prescription at their local pharmacy remains to be seen, since the list cost isn’t the final price people pay.
After many months of negotiations with manufacturers, list prices will be reduced by hundreds — in some cases, thousands — of dollars for 30-day supplies of popular drugs used by millions of people on Medicare, including blood thinners, diabetes drugs and blood cancer medications. The reductions, which range between 38% and 79%, take effect in 2026.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long long time,” President Joe Biden said Thursday, during his first policy-oriented appearance with Vice President Kamala Harris since leaving the presidential race. “We pay more for prescription drugs, it’s not hyperbole, than any advanced nation in the world.”
Those savings won’t kick in until 2026. Until then, some Medicare enrollees should see relief from drug prices in a new rule starting next year that caps how much they pay annually on drugs to $2,000.
