Statement from Margarida Jorge, head of Lower Drug Prices Now – the leading campaign fighting to lower prescription drug prices – in response to implementation of today’s key milestone in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare negotiations provisions:

“For the first time, Medicare isn’t just accepting whatever prices the drug corporations set for expensive and widely used drugs in Part D like Xarelto and Eliquis–instead, the agency, newly empowered under the new Medicare negotiations law, will propose lower prices for ten of the most expensive drugs in Medicare Part D to kick off the negotiations process. 

Nine million seniors on Medicare spent an estimated $3.4 billion out-of pocket on these ten drugs in 2022 to treat blood clots, cancer, diabetes, arthritis and other common conditions. Big Pharma made record profits by using their monopoly power to set prices and keep them high, forcing many Medicare patients to forgo other necessities, incur debt, or go without medicine because the prescriptions were not affordable. 

Now, despite a barrage of lawsuits, paid ads, and threatening prognostications from the drug corporations, Medicare is on track to implement the new reforms that will lower prices, make costs affordable and save taxpayers billions over the next decade. Today, CMS met the deadline to provide drug corporations with an initial proposal for new prices for the list of ten drugs they’ve selected for negotiations. Now, let the negotiating begin!”