Bitterroot Star: Tester visits Council on Aging to highlight new cost savings on drugs

U.S. Senator Jon Tester visited with seniors and local health care providers at the Ravalli County Council on Aging in Hamilton about the cost-savings he secured for Montanans on lifesaving prescription drugs. 

 Tester said that the cost of 10 lifesaving prescription drugs will officially be lowered as a result of the first price negotiations authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act. An estimated nearly 25,000 Montana seniors on Medicare will see cost savings thanks to Tester’s law, and Medicare enrollees across the country are expected to save $1.5 billion on out-of-pocket costs when the new prices go into effect on January 1, 2026. Tester was the only member of Montana’s congressional delegation to vote for the Inflation Reduction Act.

 “Montanans should never have to choose between filling their lifesaving prescription medications and putting food on the table – that should never be the case,” said Tester. “After hearing from Montanans about the sky-high costs of prescription drugs, I took Big Pharma head-on and passed legislation to stop them from jacking up prices on Montana seniors. These cost savings for Montana seniors and taxpayers are a no brainer and I am proud to have cast my vote to get this done.”

Tester was joined by Cathy Orr, Executive Director, Ravalli County Council on Aging; Yvonne and Jeff Gritzner, Bitterroot seniors; and Dr. Kathleen Harder-Brouwer, owner and physician at Ravalli Family Medicine.

 “Thank you so much for being here with us today, Senator Tester… we appreciate your efforts to help seniors in Ravalli County with their drug costs,” said Cathy Orr, Executive Director, Ravalli County Council on Aging. “Costs are going up and people are being priced out of their houses, so any help that they can get, especially with their prescription drug prices, is a big help because it’s helping that money go to food and to other things… About a third of our people here in Ravalli County are seniors ages 60 and above, and quite a few of those are veterans as well, and we would just like to thank you for your work with our programs and for supporting aging services in Montana.”

 “Jeff has been a heart patient and was prescribed Jardiance in the early part of the year,”said senior citizen Yvonne Gritzner, joined by her husband Jeff. “I was going to approach the doctor and see if we could get off of it because of the cost. It’s not only $140 dollars for us, but the total price of the drug is $1,500 dollars… So, we look forward to 2026 for it to go down.”

 “I’m a physician in a practice for providers and I run an independent rural health clinic,” said Dr. Kathleen Harder-Brouwer. “We serve all the citizens of Ravalli County and we have a very large Medicare population, so we see firsthand the impact of high drug costs on our patients’ health and wellbeing. Senator Tester’s support for the provision in the Inflation Reduction Act that allows Medicare to negotiate drug prices is going to have a positive direct impact on the health of Montanans.”

 Tester backed provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act that permit Medicare to negotiate the price of covered prescription drugs for the first time ever. The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is required to negotiate prices with drug manufacturers for 10 qualifying drugs for 2026, 15 drugs for each of 2027 and 2028, and 20 drugs for 2029 and each following year.

 Through Tester’s law, Medicare was granted the power to negotiate high cost drug prices on behalf of patients for the 10 following drugs. See below a breakdown of the cost savings: 

1.     Eliquis – an anticoagulant medication used to treat and prevent blood clots and to prevent stroke.

·       List Price for 30-day Supply, CY 2023: $521

·       NEW Negotiated maximum price for 30- day Supply for CY 2026: $231

·       Percentage saved from new price: 56%

·       Estimated number of Montana Medicare enrollees who utilize the medication: 10,246

2.     Jardiance – used to improve glucose control in people with type 2 diabetes.

·       List Price for 30-day Supply, CY 2023: $573

·       NEW Negotiated maximum price for 30- day Supply for CY 2026: $197

·       Percentage saved from new price: 66%

·       Estimated number of Montana Medicare enrollees who utilize the medication: 3,175

3.     Xarelto – used to treat and prevent blood clots. May lower the risk of stroke, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE), and similar conditions.

·       List Price for 30-day Supply, CY 2023: $517

·       NEW Negotiated maximum price for 30- day Supply for CY 2026: $197

·       Percentage saved from new price: 62%

·       Estimated number of Montana Medicare enrollees who utilize the medication: 4,486

4.     Januvia – used as a once-daily prescription pill that helps lower blood sugar levels in adults with type 2 diabetes.

·       List Price for 30-day Supply, CY 2023: $527

·       NEW Negotiated maximum price for 30- day Supply for CY 2026: $113

·       Percentage saved from new price: 79%

·       Estimated number of Montana Medicare enrollees who utilize the medication: 1,928

5.     Farxiga – used to treat type 2 diabetes. Also used to treat adults with heart failure and chronic kidney disease.

·       List Price for 30-day Supply, CY 2023: $556

·       NEW Negotiated maximum price for 30- day Supply for CY 2026: $178.50

·       Percentage saved from new price: 68%

·       Estimated number of Montana Medicare enrollees who utilize the medication: 991

6.     Entresto – a fixed-dose combination medication for use in heart failure.

·       List Price for 30-day Supply, CY 2023: $628

·       NEW Negotiated maximum price for 30- day Supply for CY 2026: $295

·       Percentage saved from new price: 53%

·       Estimated number of Montana Medicare enrollees who utilize the medication: 858

7.     Enbrel – a biologic medical product that is used to treat autoimmune diseases.

·       List Price for 30-day Supply, CY 2023: $7,106

·       NEW Negotiated maximum price for 30- day Supply for CY 2026: $2,355

·       Percentage saved from new price: 67%

·       Estimated number of Montana Medicare enrollees who utilize the medication: 197

8.     Imbruvica – used to treat certain cancers (such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma, Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia).

·       List Price for 30-day Supply, CY 2023: $14,934

·       NEW Negotiated maximum price for 30- day Supply for CY 2026: $9,319

·       Percentage saved from new price: 38%

·       Estimated number of Montana Medicare enrollees who utilize the medication: 83

9.     Stelara – used to treat adults 18 years and older with moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease.

·       List Price for 30-day Supply, CY 2023: $13,836

·       NEW Negotiated maximum price for 30- day Supply for CY 2026: $4,695

·       Percentage saved from new price: 66%

·       Estimated number of Montana Medicare enrollees who utilize the medication: 62

10.  Fiasp; Fiasp FlexTouch; Fiasp PenFill; NovoLog; NovoLog FlexPen; NovoLog PenFill – insulin.

·       List Price for 30-day Supply, CY 2023: $495

·       NEW Negotiated maximum price for 30- day Supply for CY 2026: $119

·       Percentage saved from new price: 76%

·       Estimated number of Montana Medicare enrollees who utilize the medication: 2,759

The Inflation Reduction Act requires Medicare to negotiate drug prices, caps out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for Medicare patients at $2,000/year, caps the cost of insulin for Medicare patients at $35/ month, and extends Affordable Care Act provisions to prevent price hikes for thousands of Montanans. The legislation was signed into law in August 2022 and is fully paid for by holding corporations and billionaires accountable, according to Tester.