MEDICARE MIRACLE: US slashes cost of 15 high-priced medicines

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FROM REUTERSThe U.S. Medicare health plan said on Tuesday that newly negotiated prices for 15 of its costliest drugs will save 36% on those medications compared with recent annual spending, or about $8.5 billion in net covered prescription costs.

The prices go into effect in 2027, including a monthly price of $274 for Novo Nordisk’s (NOVOb.CO), opens new tab popular GLP-1 drug semaglutide, sold as Wegovy for weight loss and Ozempic for diabetes.

AstraZeneca’s leukemia drug Calquence, Boehringer’s lung treatment Ofev and Pfizer’s breast cancer drug Ibrance took the biggest hits from this round of Medicare negotiations, each slashed by over $4,000 from estimated net prices.


Medicare reports that savings on the 15 drugs ranged from 38% to 85%.

Additional drugs included GSK’s asthma and COPD inhaler Trelegy Ellipta, which will cost $175, down from its list price of $654, and AbbVie’s irritable bowel syndrome medicine Linzess, going from $539 to $136.

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