LITTLE ROCK - Today, the Biden-Harris administration announced the first ten drugs selected for Medicare drug price negotiation, a direct result of President Joe Biden and Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act. This provision now allows Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug costs, dealing a blow to Big Pharma and a win to the American people.

“Thousands of seniors in Arkansas struggle to afford the medication they need. President Biden and Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act to make material improvement in their lives,” said Democratic Party of Arkansas Chair Grant Tennille. “As a result of that landmark legislation, those same Arkansans will see their prescription drug costs greatly reduced, saving their money and potentially even their lives.

“Shamefully, not one of our congressional delegation supported the reductions in prescription drug costs. Representatives Rick Crawford, French Hill, Steve Womack, and Bruce Westerman voted against allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prices, and now their party is threatening to repeal the IRA and roll back its life-saving progress. They are continuing to turn their backs on seniors in Arkansas struggling to afford the medicine they need to live,” added Tennille.

Arkansans Prescribed the Drugs Selected for Medicare Price Negotiation: 

(from HHS estimates, available here)

• 9 million: Number of seniors who took the 10 drugs selected for Medicare price negotiation in 2022.  
• $3.4 billion: Amount Medicare beneficiaries spent in out-of-pocket costs in 2022 on the 10 drugs.
• $6,497: The average out-of-pocket cost seniors without additional financial assistance had to pay in 2022 for just one of the drugs selected for negotiation.
• 33 years: Amount of time leaders spent trying to allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices.
• $160 billion: How much taxpayers will save because of the Inflation Reduction Act’s health care provisions.
• 4 million: Number of seniors already benefiting from the Inflation Reduction Act’s $35 per month cap on the cost of insulin.
• 15 million: Americans continuing to save $800 per year on health insurance premiums because of the Inflation Reduction Act.
• $400: The amount one in three Medicare beneficiaries are projected to save on prescription drugs annually when the $2,000 out-of-pocket cap goes into effect.
• 8: Number of lawsuits Big Pharma has already filed to block the Biden administration from empowering Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices.
• Nearly $400 million: The amount Big Pharma spent in lobbying efforts to try to stop the administration from empowering Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices for American families.
• Over 8 in 10: Adults support allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, according to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll.