1 week ago
US Drug Prices Fall at Fastest Rate in 63 Years
US prescription drug prices fell 3.1% over the year ending in July.
Mehmet Oz, who leads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said prices may fall further.
The administration is asking participating drug companies to charge US customers no more than they charge customers overseas.
Oz said 17 companies representing 85% of the pharmaceutical industry agreed to this approach.
He said Americans sometimes pay three times as much as people in other countries for the same medicine.
The price data also included generic medicines.
Some eligible Medicare patients can now get certain weight-loss and diabetes medicines for $50 a month instead of more than $1,000.
Oz also said fertility medicine prices had dropped by 90%.
The US Consumer Price Index showed prescription drug prices falling 3.1% year over year in July.
Medicare chief Mehmet Oz said prices would continue declining as US costs were linked to prices overseas.
Oz said 17 pharmaceutical companies, representing 85% of the sector, had accepted the pricing approach.
Eligible Medicare beneficiaries can obtain certain GLP-1 medicines for $50 monthly, compared with more than $1,000 previously.
Oz said fertility medicine prices had fallen 90% and credited both current policies and negotiations authorized in 2022.
- Who
- Mehmet Oz, the Trump administration’s Medicare chief, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and participating pharmaceutical companies.
- What
- US prescription drug prices recorded their fastest reported decline in 63 years, while the administration pursued overseas-linked pricing.
- Where
- The United States, with comparisons to drug prices in Europe and Asia.
- When
- The statement was made on Sunday, citing Consumer Price Index data for July.
- Why
- The administration says linking US prices to overseas prices and using government negotiations will improve affordability.
Key facts
- July drug-price change
- A 3.1% year-on-year decline in the US Consumer Price Index measure, including generic medicines.
- Companies participating
- 17 pharmaceutical companies, representing 85% of the sector, according to Oz.
- International price comparison
- Oz said US patients often paid three times as much as consumers in other countries for identical medicines.
- GLP-1 medicine price
- Eligible Medicare beneficiaries can obtain certain GLP-1 drugs for $50 per month, compared with more than $1,000 previously.
- Fertility medicine prices
- Oz said prices had fallen by 90%.
- Pricing policy
- The Most-Favoured-Nation Drug Pricing policy links domestic prices to prices charged overseas.
- Affordability claim
- Oz said one in three Americans seeking a prescribed branded medicine left the pharmacy without it because they could not afford it.
Quotes
Mehmet Oz
Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
“$50 a month means you can do something to help yourself lose weight, reduce blood pressure, reduce diabetes, and all the downstream costs that would have been incurred no longer happen.”
thehansindia.com
“We're not telling companies what they can charge. We're saying, whatever you charge overseas, you got to charge here. No more of this global freeloading.”
thehansindia.com
Sources
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