Ozempic, Wegovy among the drugs protected by Medicare price controls

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A highly anticipated weight-loss diabetes drug made by Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk is among the drugs price-controlled by Medicare.

On Friday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its second list of prescription drugs covered under Medicare Part D. The list has 15 drugs, which are supposed to help reduce the financial burden for millions of patients over the age of 65. And more than that.

Novo Nordisk includes weight loss and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic, as well as Xtandi, Ibrance, Calquence and Pomalyst, drugs that treat prostate, breast, blood and bone marrow cancers. Price controls for selected drugs will soon come into effect in 2027.

Olition called on Congress to repeal Biden’s drug price controls

root Inflationary Reduction Act (IRA); In the year Signed into law in 2022, Medicare is empowered to set lower prices on select covered high-cost drugs.

While the IRA refers to “negotiation,” the text of the law allows CMS to set a “higher fair value” for a drug. The pharmaceutical company must “negotiate” the price. If they fail to do so, the government assesses the excise tax due each day at the “highest fair value”.

The move has faced criticism from drugmakers, including Novo Nordisk, which told FOX Business that it “opposes the government’s price adjustment through the IRA and has serious concerns about how the law will be implemented by this administration, which includes bulking up many products on an individual basis. It does not meet the requirements of the law.”

The company believes the pricing process “could negatively impact patients’ ability to access their medications and hinder the scientific development of life-changing drugs for chronic diseases with real unmet need.”

In the year Shortly after the first 10 drugs were announced in October 2023, a coalition of more than 40 groups called on Congress to repeal the drug price negotiation program included in the IRA. The Biden administration Finally, it leads to drug shortages and high costs.

Under the Price Reduction Act, Medicare is authorized to charge lower prices on selected covered high-cost drugs. (Photo by Andreas Arnold/Image Combination by Getty Images/Getty Images)

A coalition of more than 40 groups sent a letter to federal lawmakers shortly after the Biden administration released its first list of 10 drugs, which include Merck’s diabetes drug Januvia, Johnson & Johnson’s blood thinner Xarelto, and Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s blood thinner. Eliquis, in August 2023.

The first 10 drugs in the name of the Biden administration are subject to medical price negotiation

According to the administration, about 5.3 million Medicare Part D recipients used the new select drugs for conditions such as cancer, type 2 diabetes and asthma between November 2023 and October 2024. At that time, drugs accounted for about $41 billion, or 14 percent. Out of total Medicare Part D prescription costs.

The Biden administration has released another list of prescription drugs that should be subject to price controls. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images/Getty Images)

“Last year, we proved that negotiating lower drug prices works. Now we plan to build on that record by negotiating lower prices for 15 more essential drugs,” said Xavier Becerra, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Becerra said the agency “will continue to negotiate for people with Medicare to get access to new and life-saving treatments at lower costs.”

Pharmacist Zofit Moskovic, left, and Michelle Sorto, senior pharmacy technician for Walgreens, work on files at a computer station Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011, at the store in Oak Park, Illinois. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)

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