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It’s expected Medicare drug price negotiations will save the government $98.5 billion over a decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office, which scored the Inflation Reduction Act. - Source
Absolutely insane.
Imagine if we had Medicare for all (and the leverage that came with).
My knowledge of Medicare is exactly why I advocate for Medicare For All all the time! This kind of negotiation is new for prescription drugs, but Medicare has long negotiated lower prices for medical services. Doctors and hospitals can choose not to participate in Medicare, but most stick with Medicare because the massive pool of high-utilization patients is hard to pass up, even at lower prices.
Not just that, imagine an additional billion and change circulating in local economies instead of that amount being siphoned out annually. It's insane that they passed a law preventing this from happening for twenty years and we're seeing this benefit because it expired
Small clarification, but we're seeing it because democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which I will note that not a single republican voted for.
Prescription drug price reform to lower prices, including Medicare negotiation of drug prices for certain drugs (starting at 10 new ones per year by 2026, increasing to more than 20 additional ones per year[38] by 2029)[39][40] and rebates from drug makers who price gouge – $281 billion[7][39][40]
Yes, that is the act that empowered Medicare to begin negotiating prices but the Medicare Modernization Act, passed in 2003, barred it from negotiating prices ~~for twenty years. The MMA expired last year, lifting the ban.~~
I am incorrect, see @Midnitte's comment below
The MMA didn't expire, it was overwritten by the Inflation act:
The Medicare Prescription Drug Act expressly prohibited Medicare from negotiating bulk prescription drug prices.[21] The "donut hole" provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 was an attempt to correct the issue.[22] In 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act removed this ban and allowed Medicare to begin negotiating drug prices starting in 2026.[23] - Source
Ah, thank you for correcting me
Imagine a system more concerned about healthcare and not itemization of billable services.
Like if the government had a financial stake in your health, instead of a companies financial incentive to make sure you don't receive care?