Statement: House approves dramatic Medicare Rx pricing changes, saving Americans billions

WASHINGTON – By a 220 to 207 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives approved on Friday the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes powerful tools the government must implement to ratchet down high drug prices. Last week, the Senate passed provisions that will save close to $240 billion over 10 years and also help many older Americans with the high cost of medications. President Biden is expected to sign the Act into law.

Two of the most dramatic changes come from provisions to require Medicare to negotiate prescription prices and to set an inflation cap on annual drug price increases for the Medicare program. Two-thirds of American adults take prescription medicines, and many are burdened by the high prices. On average, Americans pay two to three times as much as people in other countries for the same essential medications.

Patricia Kelmar, U.S. PIRG’s health care campaigns director, issued the following statement: 

“Lobbyists for the pharmaceutical industry have been flooding the halls of Congress and taking over the airwaves, trying to defeat this bill and maintain the status quo of setting high drug prices that Medicare has to pay. But American voters pushed back harder, and we thank the legislators who listened and delivered.

“When President Biden signs this new law, the balance of power will be right. The federal government will now be able to negotiate prices for the most costly medications, just like any insurance company could.

“The 62 million Americans on Medicare will benefit when the bill puts an end to the currently unlimited annual drug price hikes. It will save billions of dollars for both patients and our federal Medicare program.”