Medicare has negotiated price cuts for 10 Drugs

CMS (Medicare) controls a large part of the pharmaceuticals used by patients and they have considerable influence on pharma.

Medicare beneficiaries will benefit by price reductions for drugs intended for patients with common diseases, such as diabetes, heart failure, psoriasis, ulcerative colitis, blood clotting disorders, and blood cancers

The discounts are considerable ranging from 79%% to 36%

Here’s the list:

Januvia: Manufactured by Merck Sharp Dohme to treat diabetes, the negotiated price is $113 for a 30-day supply, which is a 79% reduction 

 Fiasp  (insulin} FlexTouch; Fiasp PenFill; NovoLog; NovoLog FlexPen; NovoLog PenFill: Manufactured by Novo Nordisk to treat diabetes, the negotiated price is $119 for a 30- day supply, which is a 76% reduction. 

Farxiga: Manufactured by AstraZeneca AB to treat diabetes, heart failure and chronic kidney disease, the negotiated price is $178.50 for a 30-day supply, a reduction of 68%. 

Enbrel: Manufactured by Immunex Corp. to treat rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, the negotiated price is $2,355 for a 30-day supply, which is a 67% cut. 

Jardiance: Manufactured by Boehringer Ingelheim to treat diabetes, heart failure and chronic kidney disease, the negotiated price is $197 for a 30-day supply, which is a 66% savings. 

Stelara: Manufactured by Janssen Biotech Inc. to treat Psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, the negotiated price is $4,695 for a 30-day supply, which is a 66% reduction. 

Xarelto: Manufactured by Janssen Pharms for prevention and treatment of blood clots, and reduction of risk for patients with coronary or peripheral artery disease, the negotiated price is $197 for a 30-day supply. It’s a 62% reduction 

Eliquis: Manufactured by Bristol Myers Squibb for prevention and treatment of blood clots, the negotiated price is $231 for a 30-day supply, reduction of 56% 

Entresto: Manufactured by Novartis Pharms Corp to treat heart failure, the negotiated price is $295 for a 30-day supply, which is a 53% reduction. 

Imbruvica: Manufactured by Pharmacyclics LLC to treat blood cancers, the negotiated price is $9,319 for a 30-day supply, which is a 38% cut. 

These drugs are heavily marketed by the media on television and cable television.

Patient awareness causes them to ask for these drugs from physicians. The fact that there have been significant reductions in prices will increase patient demand.

Whatever price reductions the increase in demand will offset the reduction in price.