In a monumental decision that could benefit millions of retirees, President Joe Biden, as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, announced his plan to have Medicare, for the first time ever, negotiate the cost of several prescription drugs with the pharmaceutical industry.
They include:
- Eliquis (a blood thinner to prevent blood clots)
- Jardiance (diabetes and heart failure medication)
- Xarelto (prevents blood clots)
- Januvia (diabetes)
- Farxiga (diabetes, heart failure, chronic kidney disease)
- Entresto (heart failure)
- Enbrel (rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis)
- Imbruvica (certain blood cancers)
- Stelara (psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis)
- Fiasc and NovoLog (diabetes)
The full announcement can be found here.
The news comes as retired state employees await a decision on the Fitch vs Maryland lawsuit, in which a number of retired workers challenged the state’s ability to cut the employee retiree prescription drug program and move them to Medicare Part D. A final ruling is expected in the next few months.
2023-09-07