- Starting next month, prices for five Pfizer drugs for Medicare beneficiaries will be reduced as part of President Joe Biden’s plan to cut prescription drug costs, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services.
- Pfizer’s drugs are one of the first set of 27 Part B prescription drugs eligible for Medicare’s inflation rebate starting April 1.
- Pfizer’s medicines include the blood thinner Fragmin, the chemotherapy injection Nipent, and two antibiotics.
President Joe Biden speaks out on new rules in the Build Back Better Act on prescription drug prices in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, Dec. 6, 2021.
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images
As part of President Joe Biden’s plan to cut prescription drug costs, Medicare beneficiaries will cut prices on five drugs from Pfizer. Said Wednesday.
Pfizer’s drugs are among the first set of 27 Part B prescription drugs to qualify for Medicare’s inflation rebate starting April 1, according to the department. Pfizer and other prescription drug companies will have to pay Medicare back through rebates because Medicare prices have risen faster than inflation.
Pfizer drugs contain blood thinners Fragminwas approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1994. atghamrenal allografts and drugs used to treat symptoms of aplastic anemia, and chemotherapy injections NipentIt also contains Pfizer’s antibiotics Vicillin LA and Vicillin CR, which are used to treat syphilis. Both drugs are used to treat upper respiratory tract infections.
Seniors could see their out-of-pocket drug costs drop by $2, down to $390 per average dose, the ministry said. The amount a Medicare beneficiary can save depends on several factors, including treatment protocols and whether supplemental coverage is available.
The savings come from provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act passed last August by Democrats in Congress. The announcement is also part of Biden’s broader efforts to reduce healthcare costs for Americans amid stubbornly high inflation.
Along with the rebate, the provision will discourage other companies from raising prices at a faster rate than inflation in the future, the ministry said. HHS report A study released in September 2022 found that prices for 1,200 prescription drugs rose faster than inflation in 2021, one year before the IRA was signed into law.
Later this year, Medicare plans to begin negotiations to reduce prescription drug prices for beneficiaries.
“The measures of the Biden administration are already saving millions of seniors hundreds of dollars each year, and President Biden is fighting to extend these cost savings to all Americans,” the White House said in a statement. There are,” he said.
