“For too long, Medicare has been forced to contend with Big Pharma with one hand tied behind its back – that ends when this bill is signed into law,” said Wyden. “Ever since I became the top Democrat on the Finance Committee, I have been spotlighting how the drug pricing system is broken top to bottom. At last, the Senate has begun to redefine the relationship between Medicare and Big Pharma. That work began last Congress on a bipartisan basis, and virtually the entirety of the Finance Committee’s work two years ago is included in the Inflation Reduction Act. Democrats have taken the critical next step by lifting the curse that has prevented Medicare from negotiating lower prices.
“Medicare negotiation is the centerpiece of the Inflation Reduction Act’s drug pricing reforms. No longer will drug companies be able to string Medicare along for years or even decades while taxpayers foot the bill. This policy targets the most expensive, most used drugs that have had zero competition for years on end. It lowers prices in a way that is fair and designed to promote innovation, not stifle it. Those negotiations will begin next year. It creates a limit on Big Pharma’s ability to price gouge with the Medicare inflation rebate, requiring drug companies to pay a fee to Medicare if they raise their prices faster than inflation. Critically, the bill will protect seniors from high out-of-pocket costs in less than a year and a half with a $2,000 out-of-pocket cap on drug costs, which will spare more than a million seniors from financial peril. Taken together, these policies represent a seismic shift in how Medicare pays for medicine, and it does so in a way that will greatly lower costs for seniors and taxpayers.”
Pages: 1 · 2
More Articles
- Press Briefing by White House COVID19 Response Team and Public Health Officials; December 15, 2021
- How are States Prioritizing Who Will Get the COVID-19 Vaccine First? CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) Released an Interim Recommendation For the Highest Priority Group
- On the Buses with Older Warrior Women
- The Dangers of Celebrating Christmas: Injuries from Christmas Trees, Electrical Lights, Sleds and Chimneys
- My Mother’s Cookbook Frosted Cakes: Seven-Minute Frosting, 1234 Cake, Pound Cake Torte and Carrot Cake
- How Health Affects Voter Turnout: There’s An Important Polarization of the Electorate to Consider - The Health Divide
- Stateline: The Elections Are Coming and There's a National Shortage of Poll Workers
- FactCheck.org Highlights Trump’s Fuzzy Medicare Math, "Medicare will be $700 billion stronger over the next decade thanks to our growth." South Dakota, September 7, 2018
- March 23rd: FTC and FCC Hosting Joint Policy Forum and Consumer Expo to Fight the Scourge of Illegal Robocalls
- CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention): 6 Things You Need to Know About This Flu Season