MONDAY, Jan. 30, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. authorities could prevention billions each twelvemonth erstwhile Medicare begins negotiating cause prices successful 2026, caller probe suggests.
The Inflation Reduction Act passed by Congress past twelvemonth allows Medicare to bargain with cause companies connected the prices of 10 of the highest-priced drugs successful 2026 earlier adding 15 much successful 2027, 15 much successful 2028 and 20 much each twelvemonth aft that.
If that had happened successful 2018, 2019 and 2020 for 40 drugs, it would person saved the U.S. $26.5 billion, astir 5% of each cause spending, according to researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School successful Boston.
"That's a beauteous sizable simplification successful spending from a precise tiny fig of drugs," survey writer Dr. Benjamin Rome, a superior attraction doc astatine Brigham and Women's Hospital and an teacher astatine Harvard Medical School, told NBC News.
But experts noted that cause companies could effort to undermine the interaction of the law.
"Drug companies are apt to combat mightily against the mentation of each proviso truthful that the hammer does not autumn connected their drugs," said Robin Feldman, a pharmaceutical and intelligence spot instrumentality adept astatine the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, told NBC News.
The survey "shows what is possible," Feldman said.
The authorities volition beryllium capable to negociate the prices of drugs that person been connected the marketplace for 9 years and for biologics that person been disposable for 13 years if determination are nary generics oregon different comparable alternatives, NBC News reported.
Drug companies whitethorn effort to clasp onto profits by allowing a prime fewer manufacturers to marque generic versions of their drugs, Rome said. They could besides bash thing called “evergreening,” successful which they reintroduce their cause aft making incremental changes.
"I don't deliberation anyone would beryllium amazed to find the manufacture pushing back," said Tricia Neuman, a Medicare adept with KFF, told NBC News.
The negotiations should supply "very, precise steep discounts," Rome added.
The survey was published Jan. 27 successful JAMA Health Forum.
More information
The Congressional Budget Process has much connected prescription cause prices.
SOURCE: NBC News
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