U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris walk out together, at an event on Medicare drug price negotiations, in Prince George's County, Maryland, U.
S., August 15, 2024. Ken Cedeno | Reuters The Biden administration on Thursday reached a milestone in Democrats' decades-long quest to use Medicare to drive down prescription drug costs, releasing new prices for the first 10 medications subject to negotiations between the federal program and drugmakers.
But the announcement is just the beginning of a controversial, multi-round process that could save more money for taxpayers and older Americans and put more pressure on pharmaceutical companies over time. It's a key provision of President Joe Biden's signature Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed into law almost exactly two years ago. The agreed-upon prices , which go into effect in 2026, set the precedent for the future rounds of negotiations that will kick off next year.
Those talks will likely affect prices in the coming years for dozens more widely used drugs made by the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. "I think the expectation that people should have is that this is just the start. These are just the first ten drugs," said Leigh Purvis, a prescription drug policy principal with AARP Public Policy Institute, an arm of the influential lobbying group that represents people older than 50, which has advocated for Medicare's negotiation powers.
"Sometimes people get caught up in the fact that thei.