US drug prices see fastest fall in 63 years: Medicare chief

Washington, Aug 23 (IANS) US prescription drug prices are falling at their fastest rate in 63 years and are likely to decline further, the Trump administration’s Medicare Chief said on Sunday.

Mehmet Oz, Administrator of the Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the fall was accelerating as the administration linked American prices to those charged in Europe and Asia.

“Well, I think drug prices are going to continue to drop. This is just what the doctor ordered,” Oz told CBS News.

The US Consumer Price Index recorded a 3.1 per cent year-on-year fall in drug prices in July. The figure included generic medicines, which also contributed to the decline.

Oz said that one in three Americans who went to a pharmacy for a prescribed branded medicine left without it because they could not afford the cost.

US patients often paid three times as much as consumers in other countries for identical medicines, including drugs produced at American facilities, he added.

The administration introduced its Most-Favoured-Nation Drug Pricing policy to link domestic prices to those offered overseas.

Oz said 17 companies representing 85 per cent of the pharmaceutical sector had accepted the approach.

“We’re not telling companies what they can charge. We’re saying, whatever you charge overseas, you got to charge here. No more of this global freeloading,” he added.

Oz said the agreements had not harmed pharmaceutical companies.

Their combined market value had risen because investors wanted pricing stability, he added.

He cited medicines known as GLP-1 drugs, which are used for weight loss and diabetes treatment.

Eligible Medicare beneficiaries can now obtain them for $50 a month, compared with more than $1,000 previously, he said.

“$50 a month means you can do something to help yourself lose weight, reduce blood pressure, reduce diabetes, and all the downstream costs that would have been incurred no longer happen,” Oz said.

Fertility medicine prices had fallen by 90 per cent, he added.

All new medicines released in the US by the participating large companies would be offered at Most-Favoured-Nation prices.

Oz also credited negotiations authorised under a 2022 law passed during the Biden administration.

He said the government had become more aggressive while continuing to negotiate fairly with drugmakers.

“Drug prices and affordability are bipartisan beneficial issues,” he added.

“But every tool I have, including these negotiations, we will use.”

–IANS

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