Lowering Rx Costs.
Rep. Yadira Caraveo and Democrats in Congress have introduced a bill to lower prices for even more drugs
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (P.L. 117-169) was signed into law on August 16, 2022. This piece of legislation impacts Colorado seniors and people with disabilities enrolled in Medicare Part D and B and eligible Coloradans who purchase healthcare through Colorado’s health insurance marketplace. The Act includes a $35 monthly cap on the cost of insulin for Medicare recipients, a $2,000 annual cap for out-of-pocket prescription drug costs by 2025 for Medicare recipients, an extension of the health insurance premium tax credits introduced in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and negotiated prices for qualifying drugs.
Two years later, on August 15, 2024, negotiated prices for the first 10 qualifying drugs under Medicare Part D were announced by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, will go into effect in 2026, and are expected to save seniors $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs and save American taxpayers $6 billion on prescription drug costs in 2026 alone:
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Eliquis, commonly used in preventing and treating blood clots, will see a 56% discount.
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Jardiance, commonly used to treat diabetes, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease, will see a 66% discount.
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Xarelto, commonly used to reduce the risk for coronary or peripheral artery disease patients, will see a 62% discount.
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Januvia, commonly used to treat diabetes, will see a 79% discount.
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Farxiga, commonly used to treat diabetes, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease, will see a 68% discount.
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Entresto, commonly used to treat heart failure, will see a 53% discount.
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Enbrel, commonly used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis, will see a 67% discount.
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Imbruvica, commonly used to treat blood cancers, will see a 38% discount.
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Stelara, commonly used to treat psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis, will see a 66% discount.
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Fiasp/Novolog, commonly used to treat diabetes, will see a 76% discount.
The Lowering Drug Costs for American Families Act (H.R. 4895), introduced on July 26, 2023, would build upon the historic achievements of the Inflation Reduction Act and extend these reforms to millions more with other types of health coverage by:
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Extending drug price negotiation benefits to all individuals with private coverage, not just those on Medicare (including 53.8% of Coloradans with employer-based coverage and over 199,000 Coloradans with Marketplace coverage).
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Applying inflation rebates that stop drug companies from raising prices too fast to all individuals with private coverage.
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Increasing the annual number of prescription drugs picked for negotiation from 20 to 50.
H.R. 4895 currently has 73 co-sponsors, including two members of the Colorado delegation, Rep. Yadira Caraveo [D-CO-8] and Rep. Diana DeGette [D-CO-01].