WASHINGTON — Millions of patients in the Medicare program could eventually see lower prescription drug costs if Democrats pass their latest drug pricing plan into law.
The plan, which cleared a major hurdle Sunday when the Senate very narrowly approved it, has four major policies — it would allow Medicare to negotiate prices for some costly drugs, penalize drugmakers for hiking prices faster than inflation, redesign Medicare’s prescription drug benefit and cap annual costs at $2,000, and cap Medicare patients’ insulin costs at $35 per month.
Those changes won’t take effect right away. Most wouldn’t take effect until 2025; negotiated drug prices won’t be in place till 2026. The cap on insulin costs comes a little sooner, in 2023. And drugmakers that hike their prices would face penalties starting in October.
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