Thanks to a provision of the Biden-Harris administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, Medicare is now allowed to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to lower drug costs. On Thursday, the administration announced the results of the first round of those negotiations, and they’re little short of spectacular.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris haven’t received nearly the credit they deserve for their relentless focus on cutting drug prices. But this major announcement is likely to remind people about this critical work—just in time to further boost Harris’surging campaign.
In these first-ever negotiations, the Department of Health and Human Services focused on 10 drugs commonly prescribed to Medicare patients. These products treat heart disease, cancer, diabetes, blood clots, and kidney disease. Several are prescribed to over a million Americans, and they have names familiar to anyone who has sat through their commercials: Eliquis, Jardiance, Xarelto, and more.