Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, Medicare Will Lower Costs of 10 Life-Saving Drugs

While Arizona Republicans Remain Opposed to the Law, Democrats are Taking on Big Pharma and saving Arizonans Thousands

PHOENIX — The Biden administration today named the first 10 drugs to be targeted by Medicare price negotiations, a provision of the Inflation Reduction Act to lower prescription drug costs for Medicare patients.


The list includes three diabetes drugs that thousands of Arizonans use: 

  • 21,000 Medicare enrollees in Arizona rely on Jardiance and are currently paying an average of $310 per year in out of pocket costs

  • 14,000 Medicare enrollees in Arizona rely on Januvia and are currently paying an average of $287 per year in out of pocket costs

  • 12,000 Medicare enrollees in Arizona rely on Novolog and are currently paying an average of $126 per year in out of pocket costs


You can view a complete breakdown of the 10 drugs, the number of Arizonans relying on those drugs, and the average out of pocket costs for each of those medications here.


“Diabetes is a life-long disease that requires constant attention and easy, reliable access to insulin and other medications to keep the disease in check,” said Esther Lumm, a Valley resident living with diabetes. “For Arizonans on Medicare like myself, rising and unpredictable prescription drug costs are a threat to our health care and to our ability to make ends meet. I'm grateful to the members of our congressional delegation who passed the Inflation Reduction Act and to the Biden administration for placing a check on the pharmaceutical corporations to make these prescriptions more affordable.”


Big Pharma is working overtime to protect drug companies’ bottom line. Drug manufacturers have already filed eight lawsuits to block negotiations—unsurprising given that the top 8 drug companies made $110 billion and the largest drug companies paid their CEOs an average of $36.4 million in profits last year.   


House Republicans, including Rep. David Schweikert, voted against the Inflation Reduction Act. Rep. Juan Ciscomani was not in Congress to vote on the legislation—but he voiced his opposition to the bill.


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Advancing AZ