The Biden administration announced on Tuesday that it is taking steps to lower the cost of prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries by negotiating with drugmakers on the prices of 10 high-cost drugs.

These include the blood thinners Eliquis and Xarelto, crucial in preventing the formation of blood clots.

The Biden administration announced on Tuesday a historic move to allow Medicare to negotiate the prices of prescription drugs, a long-standing Democratic priority that was included in last year's Inflation Reduction Act despite fierce opposition from drug companies.

Among the drugs that are up for negotiation include Jardiance, a diabetes drug; Januvia, also for diabetes; Farxiga, another diabetes drug; Entresto, for heart failure; Enbrel, for arthritis and psoriasis; Imbruvica, a blood cancer drug; Stelara, used on psoriasis, Crohn's disease and other illnesses; and Fiasp, also used for diabetes.

It is worth noting that Medicare prescription drug plan enrollees already pay a maximum of $35 per month for insulin, as stipulated by a separate provision of the Inflation Reduction Act.

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At a White House event on Tuesday afternoon, Biden linked the announcement to his economic revitalization agenda. "Lowering prescription drug costs is part of a much broader vision for the country, growing the economy from middle out and the bottom up, not the top down," he said.

Drugmakers have just over a month to decide whether to participate in the Medicare drug price negotiation plan for the first 10 eligible drugs. They may be subject to fines of up to 95% of their US sales if they fail to participate in the negotiations.

They may also choose to withdraw their drugs from Medicare and Medicaid coverage, which would effectively shut them out of these large markets.

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Stephen Ubl, CEO of industry trade group PhRMA, said in a statement after the list was released: "The cancer moonshot will not succeed if this administration continues to dismantle the innovation rocket we need to get there."

The 10 prescription drugs were selected from a list of the 50 most expensive drugs in Medicare Part D, the prescription drug program for seniors.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the drugs selected for Medicare price negotiations accounted for 20% of the total spending on prescription drugs in Medicare Part D between June 1, 2022, and May 31, 2023.

Some of the most expensive Medicare drugs were not included in the first round of negotiations because they are still under patent protection, they are the only treatment for rare diseases or other reasons.

Even though the negotiated prices will not go into effect before the 2024 elections, Democrats are expected to highlight the negotiations and other drug cost reforms in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA,) as part of their campaign messaging.

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