We lower the federal deficit by $160 billion as a result of Medicare will now not should pay these exorbitant costs to Huge Pharma.
President Joe Biden in his State of the Union tackle, March 7, 2024
President Joe Biden has been making his case for reelection to voters by telling them he’s good for his or her pocketbooks, together with on the pharmacy counter.
Throughout his State of the Union tackle, Biden mentioned laws he signed gave Medicare the ability to barter decrease prescription drug costs.
“That’s not simply saving seniors cash and taxpayers cash,” Biden mentioned, a reference to the Inflation Discount Act, which handed in 2022. “We lower the federal deficit by $160 billion as a result of Medicare will now not should pay these exorbitant costs to Huge Pharma.”
Biden added, “This 12 months, Medicare is negotiating decrease costs for among the costliest medication.” He referred to as for giving Medicare the ability to barter costs for 500 medication over the subsequent decade.
In August, the federal authorities introduced the primary 10 medication that it’s going to negotiate for decrease costs as a part of the Inflation Discount Act. A revered supply of laws evaluation tasks the change will save the federal government some huge cash, however these {dollars} haven’t been realized.
There’s a motive Biden touted this laws throughout his tackle: Polling by KFF reveals that individuals, no matter their political leanings, overwhelmingly assist the concept of permitting Medicare to barter drug costs. However most individuals don’t know that such negotiations are underway.
Impression of Inflation Discount Act Will Take Many Years
In August 2022, Biden signed the Inflation Discount Act, which is able to permit the federal authorities to barter costs with drugmakers for Medicare. Biden stored his promise to repeal the regulation that barred Medicare from negotiating costs.
The nonpartisan Congressional Price range Workplace tasks a 10-year cumulative financial savings of $161.7 billion from two provisions of the Iaw: a phased-in effort to barter with drugmakers for decrease costs and a rebate for worth will increase above the general inflation charge. (The White Home has beforehand pointed to this evaluation.)
Nevertheless, not all of the financial savings might be everlasting. About $44.3 billion over 10 years might be funneled into associated provisions that increase entry and decrease out-of-pocket prices for Medicare beneficiaries.
“Negotiations are nonetheless ramping up, so the financial savings generated by the Inflation Discount Act negotiation provisions are nonetheless sooner or later,” mentioned Matthew Fiedler, a Brookings Establishment knowledgeable on the financial system and well being research. “The Congressional Price range Workplace did count on the inflation rebate provisions of the IRA (that are encompassed within the $160 billion) to start producing modest financial savings throughout 2023 and 2024, however there, too, a lot of the financial savings are sooner or later.”
The laws entails worth negotiations for 10 brand-name medicines that lack generic equivalents. These medication embody the blood thinners Eliquis and Xarelto; the diabetes medication Januvia, Jardiance, and NovoLog; Enbrel, for rheumatoid arthritis; the blood-cancer drug Imbruvica; Entresto, for coronary heart failure; Stelara, for psoriasis and Crohn’s illness; and Farxiga, a drug for diabetes, coronary heart failure, and persistent kidney illness.
The CBO has estimated that the negotiated costs will translate to almost $100 billion in federal financial savings from 2026 to 2031.
“Biden is leaping the gun on claiming financial savings for seniors,” mentioned Joe Antos, an knowledgeable on well being care on the conservative American Enterprise Institute. “Worth negotiations haven’t been accomplished; the brand new costs for chosen medication aren’t in place till 2026.”
Biden mentioned the laws is “saving seniors cash and taxpayers cash,” which might be interpreted to imply it’s saving them cash now on pharmaceuticals. However the negotiations for these medication would outline the costs to be paid for prescriptions beginning in 2026. For 2027 and 2028, 15 extra medication per 12 months might be chosen for worth negotiations. Beginning in 2029, 20 extra might be chosen a 12 months.
That mentioned, different provisions within the laws have already led to financial savings for seniors, mentioned Tricia Neuman, a senior vp at KFF:
- Sure beneficial grownup vaccines lined beneath Medicare Half D, equivalent to shingles, are lined for free of charge.
- The act established a cap on Half D spending that begins phasing on this 12 months. This 12 months, Half D enrollees pays not more than $3,300 on brand-name medication. In 2025, the cap for all lined Half D medication drops to $2,000.
- The Inflation Discount Act included the $35-a-month insulin cap, enhancements in protection for low-income beneficiaries, and the inflation rebate.
Once we pressed the White Home to supply examples of financial savings which have already occurred, a spokesperson pointed to the insulin cap.
In the meantime, Antos mentioned that though the Half D rebate has kicked in, the financial savings come from a small subset of Half D medication taken by older Individuals and that the federal government reaps the financial savings, not older Individuals.
“There isn’t a motive to count on that seniors will see important financial savings since there’s no obligation for the feds to distribute financial savings to Half D enrollees,” Antos mentioned.
Our Ruling
Biden mentioned, “We lower the federal deficit by $160 billion as a result of Medicare will now not should pay these exorbitant costs to Huge Pharma.”
Biden’s assertion omits the timeframe; the financial savings haven’t been realized. The CBO projected 10-year cumulative financial savings of $161.7 billion from two provisions of the laws. And as for saving older Individuals cash on their prescriptions, that hasn’t occurred but. The federal authorities is negotiating the primary 10 medication with the brand new costs set to take impact in 2026.
We charge this assertion Half True.
Sources
KFF, “3 Charts: Medicare Drug Worth Negotiations,” Jan. 31, 2024
White Home, “Price range Cuts Wasteful Spending on Huge Pharma, Huge Oil, and Different Particular Pursuits, Cracks Down on Systemic Fraud, and Makes Packages Extra Value Efficient,” March 9, 2023
Electronic mail interview, Matthew Fiedler, senior fellow in financial research, Middle on Well being Coverage at The Brookings Establishment, March 8, 2024
Electronic mail interview, Tricia Neuman, a senior vp of KFF and the chief director of its Program on Medicare Coverage, March 8, 2024
Electronic mail interview, Joe Antos, a senior fellow on the American Enterprise Institute, March 8, 2024
White Home, assertion to PolitiFact, March 8, 2024
President Joe Biden, remarks on well being care prices, Aug. 29, 2023
Congressional Price range Workplace, “Estimated Budgetary Results of Public Legislation 117-169, to Present for Reconciliation Pursuant to Title II of S. Con. Res. 14,” Sept. 7, 2022
Congressional Price range Workplace, “How CBO Estimated the Budgetary Impression of Key Prescription Drug Provisions within the 2022 Reconciliation Act,” February 2023
KFF, “Explaining the Prescription Drug Provisions within the Inflation Discount Act,” Jan. 24, 2023
NBC Information, “Medicare Names First 10 Medicine up for Worth Negotiations With the Authorities,” Aug. 29, 2023
PolitiFact, “Democrats’ Inflation Discount Act Will Enable Medicare to Negotiate Drug Costs,” Aug. 10, 2022
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