WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, in an historic move to help lower the price of prescription drugs, the Biden Administration unveiled plans for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to use the purchasing power of Medicare to negotiate lower prices for consumers for 10 critical drugs, which CMS was empowered to do under the Inflation Reduction Act (P.L. 117-169).  

After the list was announced, U.S. Senator Jack Reed hailed the move as a critical step to cut costs for working families and seniors on fixed incomes.  Reed issued the following statement:

“This is a huge win for consumers and taxpayers.  For years, many said they would do something about the cost of prescription drugs, but only the Biden Administration and Democrats did it.  Today’s announcement sets in motion concrete changes to help save lives and save people a lot of money by finally allowing Medicare to negotiate better prices.

“The Inflation Reduction Act empowered the federal government to do what other leading nations and every Fortune 500 company around the world already does: use purchasing power to achieve savings.  This is a commonsense, long overdue step. 

“I will continue working to lower prescription drug prices and improve health care coverage, access, and affordability.  Lowering these unnecessarily high drug prices means more Americans can afford to manage their health and it will improve the health of our communities while also saving taxpayers real money.”

The ten prescription drugs selected to undergo negotiations – which accounted for $50.5 billion, or 20 percent, of Medicare Part D spending from June 1, 2022, to May 31, 2023 according to CMS – include:

  • Eliquis, a blood thinner
  • Enbrel, a rheumatoid arthritis drug
  • Entresto, a heart failure drug
  • Farxiga, a drug for diabetes, heart failure and chronic kidney disease
  • Fiasp and NovoLog, for diabetes
  • Imbruvica, a drug for blood cancers
  • Januvia, a diabetes drug
  • Jardiance, a diabetes drug
  • Stelara, a drug for psoriasis and Crohn’s disease
  • Xarelto, a blood thinner