Health Care — Negotiated drug prices for Medicare are here

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View Online Health Care Health Care The Big Story  Negotiated drug prices for Medicare are here  The Biden administration on Thursday announced the first results of Medicare's new power to negotiate drug prices. Democrats and allied groups touted billions of dollars in savings — older Americans will save approximately $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs, and the government will save $6 billion, the White House said.  © AP "It's a relief for the millions of seniors that take these drugs to treat everything from heart failure, blood clots, diabetes, arthritis, Crohn's disease, and more – and it's a relief for American taxpayers," President Biden said in a statement.     "We showed that major progress can be made for the American people when we work together to take on special interests, even as Big Pharma continues to go to court to try to block lower prices for consumers."    But for all the political victory laps from Democrats, the numbers touted by the administration don't mean much.     The negotiated rates represent a savings from 38 percent to 79 percent over the 2023 list prices of the drugs, which were some of the priciest in Medicare.     But Medicare doesn't pay the full list price, so it's difficult to tell just how much seniors are actually saving on a drug-by-drug basis.    The number that matters is how much people save relative to the net price, which is the price of the drug after prescription drug plans negotiate with manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers. But that amount is a secret, and Medicare can't disclose it.     So for individual patients, the amount they save will largely depend on their insurance plan and their drug costs.    The negotiated prices won't take effect until 2026, but senior White House officials said they don't expect the savings that year to be "materially different" from the estimates released Thursday.  Welcome to The Hill's Health Care newsletter, we're Nathaniel Weixel, Joseph Choi and Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. Essential Reads  How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond: What to know about mpox global health emergency The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Wednesday the recent outbreak of mpox a global health emergency, warning that the new, more contagious strain of the virus could spread further internationally. Nearly all of the reported cases and deaths — 96 percent — have so far been in Congo, where the outbreak originated. But cases have been reported in several of its neighboring countries. In total, there have been more than …  Full Story Florida polls show abortion measure falling short While a new survey finds that more than half of Florida voters support a state ballot initiative to protect abortion rights, it might not be enough to clinch passage in November’s election. A poll released Wednesday from Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and Mainstreet USA found 56 percent of Sunshine State voters support the proposed amendment, falling short of the 60 percent threshold Florida requires for constitutional …  Full Story American women have lowest life expectancy among high-income countries Women in the U.S. can expect to live shorter lives than women in similarly wealthy nations, according to a brief from the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit research group focused on health care. In the brief, published Thursday, the Commonwealth Fund used provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to calculate the life expectancy for U.S. women in 2022 at birth which, at 80, is the lowest female …  Full Story In Other News  Branch out with a different read: Massachusetts governor signs law phasing out toxic PFAS in firefighters' gear BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed into law Thursday a bill that would phase out the use of PFAS, a group of toxic industrial compounds, in firefighters' protective gear. The chemicals — associated with health problems including several types of cancer, such as breast, kidney and testicular cancer — are used in gear to … Full Story Around the Nation  Local and state headlines on health care: Texas children's hospital laid off 997 employees in recent job cuts, documents show (Houston Chronicle)  Whooping cough cases spiking in CT, especially among kids. Here's what to know (Hartford Courant)   Children's Wisconsin doctors urge state lawmakers to match federal Tobacco 21 law (WTMJ)  What We're Reading  Health news we've flagged from other outlets: Antiviral used for mpox no better than placebo, NIH says (STAT News)  Democrats split on bill that could aid pot research (Politico)   Kids who survived Super Bowl shooting are scared, suffering panic attacks and sleep problems (KFF/KCUR)  What Others are Reading  Most read stories on The Hill right now: Watch live: Trump addresses nation from New Jersey golf club Former President Trump is slated to hold a news conference Thursday afternoon from his golf club in Bedminster, N.J. — his latest address to the nation … Read more Biden rips Trump as 'Donald Dump' while signaling unity with Harris President Biden ripped former President Trump as "Donald Dump" while signaling unity with Vice President Harris at the duo's first appearance together … Read more What People Think  Opinion related to health submitted to The Hill: To repair our fiscal foundation, we need to bend the health care cost curve    You're all caught up. See you tomorrow!  Check out The Hill's Health Care page for the latest coverage. Like this newsletter? Take a moment to view our other topical products here 📩 Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  1625 K Street NW, 9th Floor, Washington, DC 20006 Copyright © 1998 - 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved.

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