Washington, D.C. — The drug pricing reforms under consideration in Congress would allow Medicare to negotiate prices for high-cost drugs to fight cancer, treat chronic diseases, and manage insulin, according to a new analysis from the Center for American Progress.
The column shows how the legislation would apply to drugs covered by Medicare and also help rein in skyrocketing prescription drug prices, a problem that has led to soaring out-of-pocket costs and dangerous drug rationing. Allowing the government to negotiate drug prices is a policy backed by more than 80 percent of the public.
“Allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices would be a critical step toward lowering drug costs for millions of Americans,” said Nicole Rapfogel, a research associate at CAP and co-author of the column. “This package of long-overdue reforms would be especially helpful to seniors and would cut health care costs for people with private insurance, too.”
The set of reforms would reduce seniors’ costs at the pharmacy and limit drug companies’ ability to hike prices, thereby reducing health insurance premiums. And it would limit the amount that patients owe for some insulin products at $35, making critical medicines more affordable for people with diabetes.
Read the column: “Congress Can Act Now To Lower Drug Costs by Allowing Medicare To Negotiate Prices” by Nicole Rapfogel and Thomas Waldrop
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