See how much Medicare plans to cut drug prices for Eliquis, Jardiance and more

Medicare is taking its scalpel to drug prices, excising billions in costs for popular medications like Eliquis and Jardiance. The Biden-Harris Administration announced significant agreements with drug makers that would cut list prices by up to 79% for the first 10 drugs selected under the new Medicare drug price negotiation program. CMS announced last year that it had selected the 10 prescription drugs that would be the first to face Medicare price negotiations under the Inflation Reduction Act. The agency recently spelled out the details fot its plan in a PDF document.

List price cuts from 38% to 79%

The negotiated prices are slated to take effect in 2026 for Medicare Part D beneficiaries. The program is set to expand, with as many as 60 drugs covered under Medicare Part D and Part B over the next four years, and up to an additional 20 drugs annually thereafter.

The negotiated prices for the 10 selected drugs will see reductions ranging from 38% to 79% off their list prices. Eliquis, a blood thinner from Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) and Pfizer, leads with an estimated $4 billion in potential savings. Jardiance, Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly’s diabetes and heart medication, follows with nearly $2 billion in projected savings. Among the most expensive drugs targeted, Enbrel’s price will drop from $7,106 to $2,355 (67% reduction), Stelara from $13,836 to $4,695 (66% reduction), and Imbruvica from $14,934 to $9,319 (38% reduction) for a 30-day supply.

The 10 Selected Drugs:

1. Eliquis (blood clots)
2. Jardiance (diabetes, heart failure, kidney disease)
3. Xarelto (blood clots)
4. Januvia (diabetes)
5. Farxiga (diabetes, heart failure, kidney disease)
6. Entresto (heart failure)
7. Enbrel (rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis)
8. Imbruvica (blood cancers)
9. Stelara (psoriasis, arthritis, Crohn’s, colitis)
10. Fiasp/NovoLog (diabetes)

The IRA is deeply unpopular for pharma firms

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is deeply unpopular with the pharma industry. PhRMA argues that the law will undermine critical R&D for patients, hike prices for many Medicare recipients and discourage innovation, particularly in areas like rare diseases and cancer treatments. Several pharmaceutical organizations, including PhRMA, have filed lawsuits challenging various aspects of the IRA. For instance, Big Pharmas like Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Johnson & Johnson have filed individual lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the IRA’s drug pricing provisions.

Medicare also eyeing cuts to physician pay

The pharma sector is not alone in facing Medicare cuts. AMA notes that physicians are also facing a 2.8% cut in pay under the proposed 2025 Medicare physician payment schedule. This follows a 1.69% Medicare pay cut in 2024 and a 2% drop in 2023. The AMA warns that Medicare physician payment effectively declined 29% from 2001 to 2024, even before accounting for the newly proposed cut. The organization notes that the cuts are occurring while the Medicare Economic Index (MEI), which measures practice-cost inflation, is estimated to increase by 3.6%.

---

Filed Under: clinical trials, Drug Discovery, Regulatory affairs
Tagged With: Inflation Reduction Act, Medicare Part D, pharmaceutical pricing, PhRMA lawsuits, physician reimbursement
 

---