Success: Medicare Recipients to Benefit From Cost Cuts

Target: Debbie Stabenow, Chair of Senate Subcommittee on Healthcare

Goal: Support lowering of Medicare prescription drug prices and annual costs.

Over 50 million Americans are enrolled in Medicare. Due to the greed of Big Pharma, the astronomical cost of many prescription and treatment drugs has placed an enormous burden on recipients…and on taxpayers who help fund these essential medical services. This ForceChange petition highlighted just how important Medicare remains to the individuals who depend upon it and the continued threats it faces. Decisive new legislative action could save Medicare billions and help better the health and the financial standing of countless Americans in the process.

The recently signed Inflation Reduction Act includes a key new benefit for the Medicare system. It can now negotiate drug prices for some of the costliest pharmaceuticals on the market. Over the next few years, dozens of drugs will be available for negotiation, with 20 per year up for negotiation after 2030. Some of the first potentially affected pharmaceuticals include a drug treating irregular heartbeats (used by close to three million patients) and a diabetes drug taken by around one million people. These two drugs alone add up to roughly 15 billion dollars in costs each year.

The savings could be enormous. Over a ten-year period, one non-partisan estimate forecasts slashed costs to the tune of 102 billion dollars. And this same forecast puts to rest doom-and-gloom predictions of stifled innovation, as it claims production on almost all new drugs will proceed without a hitch. If greedy companies try to play hardball and kill the negotiations, they will be hit with a 95 percent tax, which incentivizes them to negotiate in good faith.

Aside from the prices themselves, Medicare recipients will also have their out-of-pocket maximum costs per year slashed by about 70 percent. And even better, drug prices cannot be arbitrarily raised to bump up corporate profits. Per-year price increases will be limited across the board, not just for negotiated drugs.

These new developments could be a boon for Medicare and all its beneficiaries. Sign the petition below to support this long-overdue step toward lower pharmaceutical prices for overburdened Americans.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Senator Stabenow,

The four trillion dollars the United States spends on healthcare annually far outpaces any other nation in the world. These costs take about $10,000 dollars out of the average American’s pocket every year, and a sizeable percentage of the burden derives from soaring pharmaceutical prices. The Medicare-related portions of the Inflation Reduction Act represent a needed step in the right direction, with potential savings in the hundreds of billions over time.

Thank you for advocating for these reforms on behalf of the people who need them most.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit: Artem Podrez