GREENSBORO, N.C. — Medicare recipients across North Carolina will be paying less for the drugs they need.
The Biden Administration Thursday unveiled the results of its first-ever Medicare drug price negotiation. The White House said the move will lead to an estimated $1.5 billion reduction in out-of-pocket costs for seniors when the lower prices take effect in 2026 and $6 billion in savings for the federal government.
Drug makers have tried to stop the program in federal court but have been unsuccessful.
“Medication is a big deal for seniors. Most seniors have some chronic diseases that they need to take medicine for on an ongoing basis,” said Dr. Catherine Sevier, president emerita of AARP North Carolina.
Sevier said when seniors paid full pricing in the past for medications it created an excessive amount of hardships for people.
“One of the challenges is that people have a limited amount of income, and they're constantly being challenged to say, 'if I have this much to work with, how much can I afford to pay on my drugs versus how much to pay my rent, to keep the lights on, to get my food costs covered?'” Sevier said.
Sevier said the importance behind this new government move of newly negotiated prices for Medicare drugs is life and death for low-income seniors, as many of them have had to make challenging decisions.
“They don't take the right dose. They'll cut them in half, or they'll skip days so that they can afford to buy food and pay their bills. And that isn't the way that their medications are going to be helpful for them in the long run. And as a result, they end up sick or back in the hospital or having another problem,” Sevier said.
But, with the new negotiations on pricing, it will cut the price for medicine for seniors between 38% and 79%.
“This year you could pay up to a maximum of $8,000 out of pocket. Starting next year, because of the Inflation Reduction Act, that's dropping down to $2,000. And for people, again, living on a really tight budget, there's a big difference between $2,000 and $8,000,” Sevier said.
She said a third of people living on Social Security depend on it for more than half of their income, and an average monthly Social Security check in this country is about $1,900.
“Most seniors have some chronic disease, that’s just the natural part of aging. And so, heart disease, high blood pressure is, unfortunately some folks develop malignancy, psoriasis. There's a number of things that show up a lot, so we're looking at a large number of, of our seniors here in North Carolina that are going to benefit from this,” Sevier said.
She also said seniors should stay up to date on their Medicare drug plan to make sure it matches the medicine they’re already on, and shift their plan if their health changes to make sure it will be covered in the new pricing.