You may have seen the recent news that Medicare has announced the first 10 drugs they will begin negotiating drug prices directly with the drug manufacturers.  While this sounds like good news, it has some limitations.  Firstly, they won’t announce the prices until September 2024 and won’t be in effect until January 2026!  That is a long time to wait and for only 10 drugs.  But, I guess we have to start somewhere.  Also, a recent improvement has already been introduced that caps many diabetic related drugs to $35.  This has already had a big impact on drug costs for the millions of diabetics in the US.  The other factor is that most people don’t know that drug prices are already being negotiated by the Part D drug plans (and PBM’s).  These are some very large national companies with significant negotiation leverage.  The way the government makes it sound is that there are no negotiations or competitive environments, allowing the drug manufacturers to charge whatever price they want. That is not the case.  Because of the complications involved with drug pricing in today’s world, there are some who think we will be unpleasantly surprised by the outcome, or at least be underwhelmed.  The biggest feature that will help people who have high Part D drug costs will be the $2000 out-of-pocket maximum that will be a part of Part D drug plans beginning in 2025.  That is good news!

If you want to read more about the new Medicare drug negotiations, I have linked an article below: 

https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2023/08/29/hhs-selects-the-first-drugs-for-medicare-drug-price-negotiation.html#:~:text=The%20negotiations%20with%20participating%20drug,in%202022%20for%20these%20drugs.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need assistance with selecting a Medicare Plan.  I don’t charge any fees nor increase your cost.

Based in the Richmond, Va area, David Higgs of Choices In Medicare is an independent insurance broker who specializes in helping seniors transition to Medicare.  He can be reached at email:  dwhiggs@gmail.com or go to website:  www.ChoicesInMedicare.com

We do not offer every plan available in your area.  Currently we represent Anthem, Aetna, Humana, UnitedHealthcare, Wellcare and SilverScript organizations which offer 58 Plans in your area (Richmond Metro). Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE , or your local State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) to get information on all of your options.