White House says 48 prescription drugs increased faster than inflation

WASHINGTON (CN) — In the last quarter of 2023, pharmaceutical companies hiked prices faster than inflation on 48 prescription drugs taken by more than 750,000 seniors, the White House said Thursday.

President Joe Biden announced that dozens of companies will be required to pay rebates to Medicare because their increases outpaced inflation.

“They’re ripping off Medicare,” Biden said from the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. “They’re ripping off the American people. But now we’re fighting back.”

The Inflation Reduction Act, signed in 2022, gives the federal government more power to combat price increases on prescription drugs. Biden said the law allows the government to “beat big Pharma.”

“For too long Americans have paid more for prescription drugs than any advanced nation on Earth,” he said.

The White House said 48 Medicare Part B drugs increased in price faster than inflation in the last quarter of 2023. 

Seniors who take the medications will save between $1 and $2,786 per dose on their medication starting in January, according to the White House.

Some companies raised prices faster than inflation every quarter of the last year on 64 drugs, officials said. One medication is Signifor, used to treat an endocrine disorder, and Thursday’s action could cut monthly costs by $311 for the medication starting in January.

“Our work is not done,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “President Biden remains focused on making sure families can access the medicine they need at affordable prices.”

The White House has recently sought to use the Inflation Reduction Act as a talking point, highlighting efforts to lower costs for medication and energy bills. The legislation has also helped cap the cost of insulin, made some adult vaccines free and allowed Medicare to directly negotiate lower prescription drug prices. 

“While Republicans in Congress fight tooth and nail to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act and put money back in the pockets of Big Pharma, President Biden won’t back down from the fight to lower costs for hardworking Americans and make sure every family has access to affordable health care,” the White House said in a statement.

Officials have also threatened to break patents for drugs developed using taxpayer money if the federal government considers them too expensive.

“Taxpayers already are chipping in,” Biden said. “Then [companies] turn around and they charge Americans more than anywhere else in the world because the private companies take advantage of what happens here at [NIH]. ...You shouldn’t pay the highest cost in the world for drugs your tax dollars already paid to make.”

Follow @TheNolanStout