Biden administration may subject 48 new drugs to Medicare rebates
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 [December 14, 2023]
(Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden will announce on Thursday
that 48 new drugs may be subject to rebates, the White House said, a
move that would reduce out-of-pocket costs for Medicare recipients by as
much as$2,786 per average dose.
Biden's signature Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) includes a provision to
penalize drugmakers for charging prices that rise faster than inflation
for people on Medicare, the government program for those age 65 and
older and the disabled.
For the last quarter of 2023, prices of 48 Medicare Part B drugs rose
faster than inflation, according to the White House, which also said
some big pharmaceutical companies raised prices of certain medications
every quarter through the year.
These drugs may be subject to inflation rebates in the first quarter of
2024 as a result of the IRA, which Biden, a Democrat, signed last year.
In total, 64 drugs had prices that increased faster than inflation over
the last four quarters, the White House said in a statement.
Prices of some drugs such as Signifor, used to treat an endocrine
disorder, have risen faster than inflation every quarter since the IRA's
rebate provision came into effect.
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The White House stands decorated in Washington, U.S., December 6,
2023. REUTERS/Julia Nikhinson/File Photo
 The IRA aims to save $25 billion
annually by 2031 by requiring drugmakers to negotiate the prices of
selected expensive drugs with the U.S. Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Service, which oversees Medicare.
The Biden administration last week announced it was setting new
policy that will allow it to seize patents for medicines developed
with government funding if it believes their prices are too high.
(Reporting by Mrinmay Dey and Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by
Christina Fincher and Arun Koyyur)
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