Pfizer to pay Medicare rebates on five drugs under Biden’s plan to cut prescription drug costs

President Joe Biden comments on Build Back Better’s new prescription drug pricing rules in the East Room of the White House on December 6, 2021 in Washington, DC.

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five out pfizer drugs will cost less for Medicare recipients starting next month as part of the presidential Joe Biden plans to reduce the cost of prescription drugs, Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday.

According to the department, Pfizer’s drugs are part of the first set of 27 Part B prescription drugs that will receive Medicare inflation rebates starting April 1. This requires Pfizer and other prescription drug companies to reimburse Medicare with discounts because the prices of these drugs have risen faster than the rate of inflation.

Pfizer drugs include a blood thinner Fragminwhich was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1994. It also includes Atgama medicine used to treat kidney allograft symptoms and aplastic anemia, as well as a chemotherapy injection I thought. Also included are the Pfizer antibacterials Bicillin LA, used to treat syphilis, and Bicillin CR. Both drugs are also used to treat upper respiratory tract infections.

Seniors can see their out-of-pocket drug costs drop by $2 to $390 for an average dose, the department said. The amount that Medicare recipients save depends on several factors, such as their treatment protocol and whether they have additional coverage.

The savings are driven by a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act, which Congressional Democrats past Last August, the announcement is also part of Biden’s broader push to lower health care costs for Americans amid stubbornly high inflation.

In addition to discounts, the regulation discourages other companies from raising their prices faster than inflation in the future, the department said. HHS report published in September 2022 found that the prices of 1,200 prescription drugs rose faster than inflation in 2021, the year before the IRA was signed into law.

Later this year, Medicare will begin negotiations to lower prescription drug prices for its beneficiaries.

“Already, millions of seniors are saving hundreds of dollars annually through the actions of the Biden administration, and President Biden is fighting to extend these savings to all Americans,” the White House said in a statement.