The first round of negotiations under the Inflation Reduction Act will save Medicare $6 billion in 2026, the Biden administration announced Thursday.
The final prices will be released later today for the first 10 drugs subject to negotiation. In addition to the savings for taxpayers, Biden administration officials estimated that Medicare patients will save $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs in 2026.
Xavier Becerra
Over a decade, the Congressional Budget Office has predicted that taxpayers’ savings from the negotiations will total $100 billion, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra told reporters on a call ahead of the announcement.
All drugmakers participating in negotiations have agreed to the government’s final offer, officials told reporters, closing the book on the first round of a process that several pharmaceutical companies continue to fight in court.
The negotiated prices will take effect in 2026 for Medicare’s drug benefit, which covers about 50 million people, mostly senior citizens.
