5 facts to know about Medicare drug price negotiation

  For far too long, pharmaceutical companies have set astronomically high prescription drug prices in the United States, resulting in millions of Americans being unable to access the medications they need. In 2023, more than 80 percent U.S. adults believe the cost of prescription drugs is unreasonable, with roughly 1 in 3 older Americans reporting that they cannot afford to take their medications as prescribed. The Inflation Reduction Act empowered the secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), for the first time, to directly negotiate prices for select Medicare drugs. On August 29, 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the first 10 Medicare Part D drugs that will be subject to price negotiation, with negotiated prices to take effect in 2026.

COVID-19 revealed how sick the US health care delivery system really is

  If you got the COVID-19 shot, you likely received a little paper card that shows you’ve been vaccinated. Make sure you keep that card in a safe place. There is no coordinated way to share information about who has been vaccinated and who has not.

  That is just one of the glaring flaws that COVID-19 has revealed about the U.S. health care system: It does not share health information well. Coordination between public health agencies and medical providers is lacking. Technical and regulatory restrictions impede theuse of digital technologies. To put it bluntly, our health care delivery system is failing patients. Prolonged disputes about the Affordable Care Act and rising health care costs have done little to help; the problems go beyond insurance and access.