Donna West retired from the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles but remains very active in her community and in advocating for lower drug prices for people of all ages. Although Donna and her husband, Bob, are generally in good health their finances suffered a hit when Bob’s doctor switched him from Warfarin to Xarelto, a widely prescribed blood thinner covered under Medicare Part D. Xarelto costs $141 a month compared to $0 copay for Bob’s old prescription and Donna worries that the cost will keep increasing and stretching their budget. 

Medicare has chosen Xarelto as one of the first drugs for lower price negotiation, which hopefully will lower the cost for patients over the coming years and ensure that the medicine is affordable for everyone who needs it. Donna has been urging her elected representatives in Nevada to expand negotiations to include all drugs in Medicare so that no matter what kind of illness someone has, they will be able to afford medicines to treat it. Read more about Donna’s story here: The Inflation Reduction Act will rein in drug company price gouging. Finally. – Nevada Current