White House plan to cut drug prices could lower costs for over 100K WA seniors

The Biden White House has announced plans to negotiate for lower prices on 10 drugs, which could save seniors in Washington state a lot of cash.

“Americans pay two to three times more than people in other countries for the exact same drug,” said Kristin Link Young, deputy assistant to the president for health and veterans.

The medications are used to treat a range of health problems including blood cancers, diabetes, heart failure, and arthritis. And they’re pricey. Nationally, these 10 drugs cost people on Medicare around $3.4 billion in out-of-pocket expenses last year, according to the White House.

The move to negotiate drug prices directly with pharmaceutical companies was made possible thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, which became law last year.

For their part, pharmaceutical companies object to the effort, arguing it will mean less money for the research and development needed to create new life-saving medications.

“Politics should not dictate which treatments and cures are worth developing and who should get access to them. The cancer moonshot will not succeed if this administration continues to dismantle the innovation rocket we need to get there,” wrote the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA, in response.

The White House rejects that claim, pointing to evidence that big pharma spends more of its profits on stock buyback and dividend programs to benefit shareholders than it does on research and development.

“While big drug companies made record profits and spent hundreds of millions of dollars on lobbying year after year, millions of Americans were forced to choose between paying for the medications they need to live or paying for other basic necessities,” Link Young said.

The new drug prices will go into effect in 2026.

According to the White House, these 10 drugs, which include Eliquis for the prevention and treatment of blood clots, and several diabetes drugs including Januvia, are just a start. Medicare will negotiate prices for up to 60 covered drugs over the next four years, and up to 20 drugs per year after that.