It looks like seniors on Medicare, possibly including those with Afib, may get a reduction in their drug costs from this new legislation that may soon be signed into law:
Winners and Losers in the Inflation Reduction Act
The law will only let Medicare negotiate over a few drugs in the early years of its implementation. Medicare will only be able to haggle over 10 drugs in fiscal 2026.
One win for seniors is a $2,000 annual cap on their contribution to prescription spending.
The impact on companies isn’t completely clear because it’s not known yet exactly which drugs will be the first subjected to price negotiations, Neuman said. In 2020, Medicare spent more than $1 billion on each of nearly 40 drugs. Bristol Myers Squibb’s blood-clotting treatment Eliquis ($9.9 billion), Bristol Myers Squibb’s cancer treatment Revlimid ($5.4 billion), and Johnson and Johnson’s blood-clotting drug Xarelto ($4.7 billion) top the list.
