Magaziner Applauds Historic Announcement to Lower Prescription Drug Costs

Cranston, RI — Today, Representative Seth Magaziner (RI-02) applauded the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ announcement of the first 10 prescription drugs selected for Medicare price negotiation. This provision, included in the Inflation Reduction Act which was signed into law last year, grants Medicare the authority to negotiate lower drug prices for seniors and beneficiaries for the first time in history. Nearly 191,000 Rhode Islanders are enrolled in Medicare Part D and could be eligible for cost savings.

“No one should have to choose between paying for lifesaving medication and other basic necessities, like food and housing,” said Rep. Seth Magaziner. “This announcement is a major step toward slashing health care costs for seniors, but our work is far from over. We must keep fighting to lower the cost of prescription drugs for all Americans.”

In 2022 alone, approximately 9 million seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries spent over $3.4 billion out-of-pocket on the 10 prescription drugs selected for negotiation. These drugs are used to treat some of the most common diseases like diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, blood clots, and cancers. In 2022, Rhode Island seniors paid an average of $6,022 in out-of-pocket costs per year for one of these prescription drugs.

The Inflation Reduction Act also included additional provisions to make health care more affordable by capping the out-of-pocket cost for insulin at $35/month and out-of-pocket prescription drug costs at $2,000/year for seniors. Furthermore, the law prevents egregious price hikes by penalizing pharmaceutical companies that unfairly raised prices faster than inflation.

Rep. Magaziner co-sponsored H.R.3093: Affordable Pricing for Taxpayer-Funded Prescription Drugs Act, legislation that would require federal agencies to secure affordable pricing agreements from drug manufacturers before granting exclusive rights to develop prescription drugs or other healthcare products, lowering prescription drug costs for consumers.

Rep. Magaziner also co-sponsored H.R.4895: Lowering Drug Costs for American Families Act, which builds on the drug pricing provisions included in the Inflation Reduction Act by extending the historic drug price negotiation program to Americans with private health insurance coverage, in addition to those on Medicare.

The list of the first 10 prescription drugs available for Medicare Price Negotiation is below.