TLDR: If the negotiated prices were in effect in 2023, Medicare would have saved $6 billion and beneficiaries would have saved $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs, such as copays at the pharmacy counter.
EveryPassage on
What do these negotiations actually mean? If the drug company says no, are they free to walk away and not have the drug covered by medicare at all?
ZigZagZedZod on
It’s about time!
The ban on negotiating prescription drug prices was included in the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, which created Medicare Part D to cover prescription drugs. It was added to win votes from Republicans and pass the act.
While the MMA allowed individual insurers to negotiate, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services couldn’t negotiate on behalf of all plans.
I’m glad the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 eliminated the ban, and I look forward to the economic benefits of keeping that much more money in consumers’ pockets.
3 Comments
TLDR: If the negotiated prices were in effect in 2023, Medicare would have saved $6 billion and beneficiaries would have saved $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs, such as copays at the pharmacy counter.
What do these negotiations actually mean? If the drug company says no, are they free to walk away and not have the drug covered by medicare at all?
It’s about time!
The ban on negotiating prescription drug prices was included in the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, which created Medicare Part D to cover prescription drugs. It was added to win votes from Republicans and pass the act.
While the MMA allowed individual insurers to negotiate, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services couldn’t negotiate on behalf of all plans.
I’m glad the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 eliminated the ban, and I look forward to the economic benefits of keeping that much more money in consumers’ pockets.